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Title: Woman Sues City Over Civil War Loan
Source:
http://www.wusa9.com/
URL Source: http://www.wusa9.com/news/watercooler/story.aspx?storyid=70916
Published: Apr 22, 2008
Author: http://www.wusa9.com/
Post Date: 2008-05-02 22:49:44 by robin
Keywords: None
Views: 113
Comments: 4
TAMPA, FLA. (WUSA) ? In the early months of the Civil War, the city of Tampa needed ammunition and other supplies to defend against attack but apparently was short on cash.
So it issued a promissory note for $299.58 to storekeeper Thomas Pugh Kennedy on June 21, 1861.
Kennedy's great-granddaughter says the city never made good on its loan.
Now, Joan Kennedy Biddle and her family are suing to collect the payment plus 8 percent annual interest. The total bill: $22.7-million.
"Obviously we came at a bad time because the city seems like they're trying to cut their budget," she said. "On the other hand, they're building the Riverwalk."
Biddle wouldn't give specifics on why she decided to sue now, using as evidence a piece of paper that has been handed down as an heirloom for generations.
"This thing has been in the family since the date on the note, and it has never been repaid," said Biddle, 77. "My daddy told me, and I certainly believe him."
Tampa City Attorney David Smith said he doesn't consider the claim valid.
In legal documents, Biddle's attorney argues that the statute of limitations doesn't apply in the case because at the time the note was issued, the state had no such statute on such documents.
And Biddle pointed out that in the 1990s the federal government agreed to pay the Seminole tribe for land illegally taken in the 1820s.
But attorney John Grandoff said the city can defend against the case using the "doctrine of laches," which prevents claims from being made after an extraordinary passage of time.
Rodney Kite-Powell, curator at the Tampa Bay History Center, noted that the Tampa of 1861 is not the same city that exists today ? literally.
Tampa was originally incorporated in 1855, but was abolished in 1869 in part because residents had no money to pay taxes, and the city had no money to pay its bills, Kite-Powell said. It was reincorporated in 1887.
At the time the note was issued, Tampa was a tiny town with about 800 residents, city limits that included just a portion of downtown. It also was home to Fort Brooke, where local Confederate soldiers were stationed.
Biddle's great-grandfather, Thomas Pugh Kennedy, was one of the city's most significant pioneers, Kite-Powell said.
He operated a store with business partner John Darling.
Biddle said she's known about the note since she was a little girl. "I showed it to the attorney, and he said it looked very interesting," she said. "It's strange that the thing has never been collected."
Written by 9NEWS NOW
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Begin Trace Mode for Comment # 3.
#1. To: robin (#0)
The 14th Amendment says, ""But neither the United States nor any State shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or any claim for the loss or emancipation of any slave; but all such debts, obligations and claims shall be held illegal and void." It's probably been interpreted to apply to municipalities as well.
How did you remember that one!?
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#3. To: MUDDOG (#1)
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