Henry Harrison Swan
Judge Swan no longer hears cases. This profile is preserved as a historical record of how they ruled.
How Judge Swan decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
Swan looked through transactional form to purpose and practical effect when deciding whether a transfer defeated bankruptcy protections.
“The validity of a dealing assailed as a preference is determined by its purpose and effect, and not by its form.”
He enforced clear statutory language as written when the text did not create an interpretive ambiguity.
“The wisdom and policy of the act must be conclusively assumed. Its meaning is unequivocal, and needs no construction.”
Procedural preferences
Swan treated the end of the relevant court term as a firm limit on belated efforts to vacate a final bankruptcy adjudication.
“It is therefore beyond the power of the court to grant the relief asked.”
He required a concrete basis for disqualification and would not infer bias from a remote shared business association.
“It is not to be presumed that a man of integrity would be deflected from the obligations of his oath by the fact that he has an interest in an investment in which an officer of a corporate creditor of the bankrupt is also a stockholder and an officer.”
Cautions
Swan confined an improvement patent to the invention the patentee actually claimed rather than extending it through broad equivalents.
“his patent must be limited to what he himself has declared to be his invention.”
He enforced an insurance policy's delivery and premium requirements as conditions precedent to contractual liability.
“That requirement is made a condition precedent to the validity of the policy as an obligation on the part of the defendant.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“The loss must rest where it has fallen, and the libel must be dismissed.”
“compels me to adjudge both vessels' at fault; and a decree will be entered to that effect, and the usual order of reference to a commissioner to ascertain and report damages. The costs will be equally -divided.”
“the decree of the Western Transit Company for damages suffered by the collision be first paid out of the fund in the registry before payment of the decrees in favor of the interveners.”
“A decree will be entered dismissing the libel, with costs.”
“The collision was not caused by any fault of the Iron Chief, and the libel must be dismissed, with costs.”
“For these reasons judgment must he entered for the defendant, with costs.”
“$1,300 would seem to me to be a fair though not a liberal, compensation, and that amount, with costs is awarded the libelants for salvage.”
“The judgment must be entered for the plaintiff for the sum of $5,052.56, with interest at 6 per cent, from November 3, 1894.”
“The libelant was the last salvor, and is entitled to priority, under the circumstances of the case, over all others. His services, including his necessary disbursements, were fairly worth the sum of §5,000, and a decree will be entered in his favor for that sum, with costs.”
“It follows from this that the defendant is not guilty of infringement”
“There is uo merit in the defense, and a decree must: be entered for the libelants for the sum of $2,700, with interest and costs from November 26, 1894.”
“the cross libelant is not entitled to recover the $6,000 paid for the services of the Globe, and the cross libel must be dismissed, with costs.”
“The finding of the referee is approved, and the petition of the trustee is denied.”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
No case-level docket record was returned for Swan's tenure. The profile therefore makes no claim about his complete caseload mix, case duration, administrative dispositions, or motion timing.
A historical record
Judge Swan no longer hears cases. This profile stays available as a record of how they ruled. If you're preparing for a matter, start from the court's current bench.