James H. Riggin seeks a refund on his purchase of a slave from Bernard Kendig and payment of damages. Riggin represents that, on the 9th of August 1854, he purchased two male slaves from Bernard Kendig, “with full warranty against vices, maladies and defects prescribed by law.” Riggin now claims that one of the slaves, named Dick, was “a habitual runaway”, a “redhibitory vice” that Kendig concealed from him although it already existed at the time of the purchase. In March 1855, Dick ran away from Riggin and was absent for three to four months. In July, he was brought in by some other slaves “from the woods, where he had concealed himself in a dying condition.” Riggin claims that he immediately informed Kendig of what had happened and of his intention to return Dick, but Dick died at the end of July. Riggin therefore prays for a judgment against Kendig for $1,000, the value of the purchase price, and for $320 in damages to cover expenses incurred in trying to recover Dick and later to care for him, and the loss of his services for several months.
Result: Denied; reversed with two judges dissenting.
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Repository: University of New Orleans
