Case Name: In the matter of P. Sherryd
Court: New York Court of Chancery
Jurisdiction: New York
Decision Date: 1830-06-01
Citations: 2 Paige Ch. 602
Docket Number: 
Parties: In the matter of P. Sherryd.
Judges: 
Reporter: Paige's Chancery Reports
Volume: 2
Pages: 602–603

Head Matter:
In the matter of P. Sherryd.
A mere naked trustee, without interest, cannot become a petitioning creditor for an insolvent, without the consent of the cestui que trust, except in the cases specially provided for by the statute.
June 1st,
The Niagara Insurance Company was dissolved by an order of this court, under the statute, on the petition of the directors. The trustees, appointed on such dissolution, presented a petition to the chancellor, asking permission to become petitioning creditors of Patrick Sherryd, an insolvent debtor, to enable him to obtain a discharge from his debts.
P. Griffin, for the trustees

Opinion:
The Chancellor
said he could find no provision in the revised statutes, except as to executors and administrators, which authorized a mere naked trustee to become a petitioning creditor, under the insolvent act, without the assent of the cestui que trust. That it was against the spirit of the statute, to permit those who had no personal interest in the question, to decide whether the insolvent ought to be discharged from his liability to others. That it was at least doubtful whether the trustees could become petitioning creditors, even with the sanction of the court; and that the application must therefore be refused. But as it appeared that the insolvent was wholly destitute of property, the chancellor authorized the trustees, in their discretion, to discharge the debt due from Mm to the company; so that he might obtain a discharge on the petition of the requisite proportion of his other creditors.