320
Opinion of the Court
at law or in equity, in the property of his debtor, and therefore could not interfere with the debtor's use of that property. As stated by Chancellor Kent: "The reason of the rule seems to be, that until the creditor has established his title, he has no right to interfere, and it would lead to an unnecessary, and, perhaps, a fruitless and oppressive interruption of the exercise of the debtor's rights." Wiggins v. Armstrong, 2 Johns. Ch. 144, 145-146 (N. Y. 1816). See also, e. g., Guaranty Trust Co., supra, at 106-107, n. 3; Pusey & Jones Co., supra, at 497; Cates, supra, at 457; Adler, supra, at 411-413; Shufeldt v. Boehm, 96 Ill. 560, 564 (1880); 1 Glenn, supra, §9, at 11; Wait, supra, § 52, at 81, § 73, at 113.
The United States asserts that there were exceptions to the general rule requiring a judgment. The existence and scope of these exceptions is by no means clear.4 Cf. G. Glenn, The Rights and Remedies of Creditors Respecting Their Debtor's Property §§ 21-24, pp. 18-21 (1915). Although the United States says that some of them "might have been relevant in a case like this one," Brief for United States as Amicus Curiae 11, it chooses not to resolve (or argue definitively) whether any particular one would have been, id., at 12.5 For their part, as noted above, respondents
4 For example, some courts said that insolvency was an exception, but others disagreed. See, e. g., Annot., Of the Demands Which Will Support a Creditor's Bill, 66 American State Reports 271, 285 (1899) (cases are "in almost hopeless conflict"). This Court has concluded that that particular exception does not exist. See, e. g., Pusey & Jones Co. v. Hanssen, 261 U. S. 491, 495-497 (1923); Hollins v. Brierfield Coal & Iron Co., 150 U. S. 371, 385-386 (1893); Smith v. Railroad Co., 99 U. S. 398, 400-401 (1879).
5 Some cases suggested that there was an exception where the debt was admitted or confessed, at least if the creditor possessed an interest in the debtor's property. See, e. g., Scott v. Neely, 140 U. S. 106, 113 (1891); D. A. Tompkins Co. v. Catawba Mills, 82 F. 780, 783 (CCSC 1897). Even if the latter condition is overlooked, it is by no means clear that the action here would qualify. Petitioners' answer (filed after the preliminary injunction had issued) denied knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief (which is the equivalent of a denial, see Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8(b)) as to respondents' allegations that petitioners were currently in-
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