Margaret Clune
January 22, 2001

Building Baltimore Class Assignment #1
Synopsis of 30 Cases Involving Baltimore City, 1800-1814

1.  M’Evoy, et al. vs. The Mayor, &c. of Baltimore (1810)

Who Were the Lawyers?  Winder for the Appellants; Harper for the Apellees.  

Who Wrote the Opinion? The cause was argued before Chase, Ch. J. and Buchanan, Gantt, and Earle, J.  

Character of the Case: James M’Evoy, a broker, received and promised to sell 100 lottery tickets from and for the Roman Catholic Church, for a cost of $1000.  This case was an action in debt regarding the bond.  

Time Period the Case Covers: December 7, 1802 - December, 1810.  

2.  Wood v. Grundy & Thornburgh’s Lessee (1810)

Who Were the Lawyers?  Martin and W. Dorsey for the Appellant; Key, Harper and S. Chase, Jr. for the Appellee.  

Who Wrote the Opinion?  The case was argued before Chase, Ch. J., Buchanan, Gantt and Earle, J.  Chase wrote the appellate opinion.   

Character of the Case: Action in ejectment for a lot situate in the Howard’s Late Addition part of Baltimore City.  

Time Period the Case Covers: February 20th, 1802 - June, 1810.

3.  Bryden vs. Taylor (1809)

Who Were the Lawyers?  Harper and Purviance, for the Plaintiff;  Martin for the Defendant. 

Who Wrote the Opinion?  Chase, Ch. J. 
Character of the Case: Defendant in error brought this action of assumpsit upon a foreign bill of exchange.  

Time Period the Case Covers: July 23, 1799 - June, 1809

4.  Dickinson vs. Haslet (1813)

Who Were the Lawyers?  Brice for the Appellant; Purviance for the Appellee.  

Who Wrote the Opinion?  Cause argued before Buchanan, Earle and Johnson

Character of the Case: Action in assumpsit for money; brought by a shipper of goods against the captain and consignee of the cargo.

Time Period the Case Covers: March 11, 1806 - December, 1813

5.  Carrere v. The Union Insurance Company of MD (1813)

Who Were the Lawyers?  W. Dorsey and Harper for the Appellant; Martin, Pinkney (US Attorney General) and Purviance for the Appellees.  

Who Wrote the Opinions?  The cause was argued before Chase, Ch. J. and Buchanan, and Johnson, J.  Opinion written by Chase, Ch. J. 

Character of the Case: This cause of action was non fregit conventionem, and had to do with an insurance policy issued on “all kinds of lawful goods and merchandize, laden or to be laden on board the schooner Venus” bound from Baltimore to Bordeaux.  The schooner appears to have been captured on the high seas and carried into Halifux, Nova Scotia where the goods were libelled as prize.  

Time Period the Case Covers: June 5, 1806 - December 1813.  

6.  M’Mechen vs. The Mayor, &c. of Baltimore (1806)  

Who Were the Lawyers?  M’Mechen for the plaintiff; Key and Harper for the defendants.  

Who Wrote the Opinion?  Argued before Chase, Ch. J, Buchanan and Gantt.  Opinion by Chase., Ch. J. 

Character of the Case: An action for debt on a $30,000 bond executed by the plaintiff to the City of Baltimore for an auctioneer’s license.  

Time Period the Case Covers: January 23, 1799 - December 1806.  

7.  Buchanan’s Lessee v. Steuart (1813)

Who Were the Lawyers?  W. Dorsey, Harper and Brice for the Appellant, Marin and Pinkney (US Attorney General) for the Appellee.  

Who Wrote the Opinion?  Argued before Chase, Ch. J., Buchanan, Earle, and Johnson, J.  Opinion by Chase.  

Character of the Case: Action in ejectment for a part of a parcel in a deed that would have been included in the general property description, but excluded by the more specific property description, also in the deed.  

Time Period the Case Covers: August 8, 1720 (deed executed) - December 1813.  

8.  Browning v. Magill (1808)

Who Were the Lawyers?  Martin for the appellant; Key and T. Buchanan for the Appellee.  

Who Wrote the Opinion?  The cause was heard before Tilghman, Buchanan and Gantt, J.  

Character of the Case: This is an action in replevin for a horse.  Browning bought it at an open market-place from Culverwell, to whom the horse had been delivered by Samuel Johnson.  

Time Period the Case Covers: March 26, 1799 - June 1808.  

9.  D’Anjou & Ball vs. Deagle (1811)

Who Were the Lawyers?  Winder for the Appellants; Stephen for the Appellee.  

Who Wrote the Opinion?  Cause was argued before Polk, Buchanan, and Earle, J. 

Character of the Case: An action in negligence against the appellee because the appellee operated a merchandise vessel and appears to have handed over some handkerchiefs that were supposed to have been delivered to the Appellant to a young boy, and the handkerchiefs were never delivered.  

Time Period the Case Covers: April 1803 - June 1811

10.  Burgess vs. Gun (1811)

Who Were the Lawyers?  Harper and Winder for the Appellant; Martin and W. Dorsey for the Appellee.  

Who Wrote the Opinion? The cause was argued before Pok, Buchanan, Earle and Johnson, J.   

Character of the Case: An action in replevin for 110 hhds. of tobacco.  

Time Period the Case Covers: May 17, 1800 - June 1811.  

11.  Colvin v. Williams (1810)

Who Were the Lawyers?  W. Dorsey for the Appellant; Harper for the Appellee.

Who Wrote the Opinions?  The case was argued before Chase, Ch. J., Buchanan, Gantt, and Earle, J.  

Character of the Case: An action in assumpsit regarding shares of stock of the Bank of Baltimore.  

Time Period the Case Covers: February 22, 1804 - June 1810.  

12.  Wood vs. Repold (1810) 

Who Were the Lawyers?  Martin, Shaaff, W. Dorsey, Winder and S. Chase, Jr. for the Appellant; Key, Harper, T. Buchanan, J. Bayly and Boyd for the Appellee.  

Who Wrote the Opinion?  The Cause was argued before Chase, Ch. J. , Gantt, and Earle, J., then reargued before Pok, Buchanan, Gantt, and Earle, J. with Chase, Ch. J. dissenting.  Buchanan, J. wrote the majority opinion.  

Character of the Case: This was an action in assumpsit concerning a bill of exchange for the amount of $3780.00.  

Time Period the Case Covers: January 6, 1802 - December, 1810.  

13.  Kennedy vs. The Baltimore Insurance Company (1813)

Who Were the Lawyers?  Harper for the Appellant; W. Dorsey for the Appellees.  

Who Wrote the Opinion?  Cause argued before Chase, Ch. J., Buchanan, Earle and Johnson, J.; opinion by Chase.    

Character of the Case: An action in assumpsit.  The Baltimore Insurance Company had issued an insurance piolicy on a ship called “The Arethusa” which, on its way from St. Domingo to Baltimore, was seized by a British vessel of war and carried into Bermuda where together with her cargo, she was libelled as a prize of war.  

Time Period the Case Covers: The opinion doesn’t state the date of the fateful voyage or any other background date, the case was decided in December of 1813.  

14.  M’Mechen’s Lessee vs. Grundy & Thornburgh (1810)

Who Were the Lawyers?  Martin and W. Dorsey for the Appellant; Harper for the Appellees.  

Who Wrote the Opinion?  Cause was argued before Chase, Ch. J., Buchanan, and Earle, J.  Opinion by Chase.  

Character of the Case: An action of ejectment.  

Time Period the Case Covers: The first grant goes back to June 1, 1700, the immediate issue began on February 20, 1802, and the case was decided in December of 1810.   

15.  Hay, et al. vs. Conner (1808)

Who Were the Lawyers?  Brice for the Appellants, Purviance and S. Chase, Jr. for the Appellee.  
Who Wrote the Opinion?  H. Ridgely, Ch. J. wrote the opinion of the Baltimore County Court.  At the appellate level, the cause was argued before Chase, Ch. J., Buchanan and Nicholson, J.  

Character of the Case: An action in trover for the conversion of a slave.  Mr. John Hay executed a bill of sale to the plaintiffs for Mr. James Perry.  When Mr. Hay died, however, his daughter Martha Hay took it upon herself to hire Mr. Perry for wages to Captain Conner to perform a voyage from Baltimore to Hamburg.  The ship Mary was sold in Hamburg, and Mr. Perry was sold with it.  

Time Period the Case Covers: The dates of the actual events are not included, but the County court trial took place in February 1802 and the appellate case was decided in December of 1808.    

16.  Tyson v. Rickard (1810)

Who Were the Lawyers?  Martin, Harper and Purviance for the Appellant; Winder for the Appellee.  

Who Wrote the Opinions?  The cause was argued before Chase, Ch.J., Buchanan, Gantt and Earle, J.  Buchanan, J. wrote the majority opinion, Chase, Ch. J. dissented.  

Character of the Case: An action in replevin for goods taken supposedly to satisfy back rent owed to the defendant.  

Time Period the Case Covers: June 23, 1801 - June 1810.  

17.  Clarke v. Harris (1810)

Who Were the Lawyers?  Shaaff, W. Dorsey, Winder and S. Chase, Jr. for the Appellant; Key, Harper and T. Buchanan for the Appellee.  

Who Wrote the Opinions?  The cause was argued before Chase, Ch. J., Buchanan, Gantt, and Earle, J.  

Character of the Case: An action in assumpsit for a bill of exchange.  

Time Period the Case Covers: October 19, 1801 - December 1810.  

18.  Rusk v. Sowerwine (1810)

Who Were the Lawyers?  Harper for the Appellant; Boyd for the Appellee.

Who Wrote the Opinions?  The cause was argued before Chase, Ch. J., Buchanan, Gantt, and Earle, J. 

Character of the Case: An action in replevin for a slave, supposedly a descendant of a slave who was the subject of an executed mortgage in payment of a debt.  

Time Period the Case Covers: April 12, 1769 - June 1810. 

19.  Kennedy vs. M’Fadon & Caton (1810)

Who Were the Lawyers?  Martin for the Appellant; Harper and Winder for the Appellees.  

Who Wrote the Opinions?  The cause was argued before Chase, Ch. J. and Buchanan, Gantt and Earle.  J. Gantt dissented.  

Character of the Case: An action of assumpsit for money laid out and expended, and an action for quantum meruit for labor, regarding a “brig” called Betsy, on voyage from Baltimore to St. Domingo.   

Time Period the Case Covers: The case was decided in December of 1810.  

20.  Rutter vs. Blake (1808)

Who Were the Lawyers?  W. Dorsey for the Appellant, Purviance and S. Chase, Jr. for the Appellee.  

Who Wrote the Opinions?  H. Ridgely, Ch. J. at the County level, the case was submitted to the Court without argument and no indication of a specific appellate judge is given.  

Character of the Case: An action in assumpsit for the money relatee d to three bales of blue Guerrahs.  

Time Period the Case Covers: July 4, 1800 - December 1808.  

21.  Grant vs. Ridsdale, et al.  (1807)

Who Were the Lawyers?  Martin for the Appellant; Harper for the Appellees.  

Who Wrote the Opinions?  The cause was argued before Tilghman, Buchanan, Nicholson, and Gantt, J.  Chase, Ch. J. also seems to have written a portion of this opinion.  

Character of the Case: An action in assumpsit for goods, wares and merchandise - goods were delivered, agreed upon payment never received.  

Time Period the Case Covers: February 1, 1799 - December 1807.  

22.  Hannan v. Towers (1810)

Who Were the Lawyers?  Martin for the Appellant; Johnson (Attorney General) and W. Dorsey for the Appellee.  

Who Wrote the Opinions?  The cause was argued before Polk, Buchanan, and Gantt, J.  Polk, J. dissented.  Chase, Ch. J. wrote part of the opinion, and Kitty, Chancellor also wrote a part.  

Character of the Case: Appeal from a decree of the Court of Chancery.  Here apparently Eliza Hannon lived with the defendant John Hannan prior to marrying John Towers and performed valuable familial and domestic services to him.  Hannan promised Eliza a house on Albermarle street in consideration of her services when she married John Towers.  John and Eliza lived in the house and put in a lot of money repairing and adding on to the house, but when John Towers died, John Hannon brought an action in ejectment against Eliza, and obtained judgment in his favor.  

Time Period the Case Covers: 1792 - December 1810.  

23.  The Baltimore Insurance Company vs. Taylor (1810)

Who Were the Lawyers?  

Who Wrote the Opinions?  Nicholson, Ch. J. wrote the County opinion.  The Appeal was dismisssed at the Appellate level, no appellate judges mentioned.  

Character of the Case: Covenant on a policy of insurance of a vessel which was captured, the cargo condemned as being contraband of war. 

Time Period the Case Covers: Decided December 1810.  

24.  Walsh vs. Gilmor, et al.  (1813)

Who Were the Lawyers?  Key, W. Dorsey and Harper for the Appellant, Martin, Pinkney (Attorney General of the US) and Purviance for the Appellees.  

Who Wrote the Opinions?  At the County level, Done, J., Sprigg, J., Nicholson, J.  Chase, Ch. J.  At the appellate level: Buchanan, Earle and Johnson, J. heard the case, Buchanan, J. wrote the majority opinion, Johnson, J. dissented.  

Character of the Case: An action in assumpsit regarding an agreement to purchase goods from a ship called the Ann upon return to Baltimore from Bordeaux, France.  

Time Period the Case Covers: July 27, 1795 - December 1813.  

25.  Winter v. Sumvalt (1810)

Who Were the Lawyers?  Kell, winder and M’Mechen for the Appellant; Scott for the Appellee.  
Who Wrote the Opinions?  Cause argued before Chase, Ch. J., Buchanan, Gantt and Earle, J.  

Character of the Case: An action for slander, based on the statement “You are a rogue, and I can prove that you cheated Mathias Sitler out of a hundred dollars.”  

Time Period the Case Covers:   Decided 1810.  No mention of the date of the event or prior case.  

26.  Stevenson vs. Ridgley (1811)

Who Were the Lawyers? Martin and Winder for the Appellant, T.B. Dorsey for the Appellee.  

Who Wrote the Opinions?  At the county level, Nicholson, Ch. J.  At the appellate level, argued before Buchanan, Earle and Johnson, J.  

Character of the Case: An action in replevin against the defendant for 12 hogsheads of tobacco; apparently the defendant was supposed to produce the tobacco in return for notes issued, but instead gave other tobacco.  

Time Period the Case Covers: The case was decided in December 1811, the only other reference to a date is an act of assembly from 1802, so not before that.     

27.  Enniss v. O’Conner (1810)

Who Were the Lawyers? Winder for the Appellant; W. Dorsey for the Appellees.   

Who Wrote the Opinions?  At the County level, H. Ridgely, Ch. J.  At the appellate level: argued before Chase, Ch. J., Pok, Buchanan and Gantt, J.  

Character of the Case: An action in covenant - Enniss was supposed to have done certain carpenter’s work to the house of then Catherine Welsh, but he was discharged before the work could be completed, and Enniss sought to recover damages in the amount that the work was worth.  

Time Period the Case Covers: July 13, 1796 - December 1810.  

28.  Reinicker vs. Smith, Smith vs. Reinicker (1809)

Who Were the Lawyers?  Key and T. Buchanan for Reinicker, Martin and Harper for Smith.  

Who Wrote the Opinions?  Hanson, Chancellor; then argued before Chase, Ch. J., Polk, Buchanan, Nicholson and Earle, J.  

Character of the Case: Cross appeals from a decree by the Court of Chancery.  Having to do with an agreement to sell interest in certain property, which agreement had been fulfilled, but then an action in ejectment was filed.  

Time Period the Case Covers: July 29, 1794 - June 1809.  
29.  Davis et ux. vs. Walsh (1808)

Who Were the Lawyers?  Martin for the Appellants, Harper for the Appellee.  

Who Wrote the Opinions?  Hanson, Chancellor.  At the appellate level, the cause was argued before Chase, Ch. J., Nicholson, and Gantt, J.  

Character of the Case: Appeal from a decree of the Court of Chancery, dismissing the bill of complaint.  The case involves an appeal to the Chancellor for the ‘benefit of the act of assembly respecting insolvent debtors’.  

Time Period the Case Covers: November 6, 1792 - December 1808.   

30.  De Sobry, Ex’r. of Terrier de Laistre vs. Terrier de Laistre (1807)  

Who Were the Lawyers?  Martin (Attorney General) and Purviance for the Defendant, Harper and Boyd for the Plaintiff.  

Who Wrote the Opinions?  Chase, Ch. J.  The Cause was argued before Tilghman, Buchanan, Nicholson and Gantt, J.  

Character of the Case: This case is an action in assumpsit related to a will.  The case involves French law and a commission to the Island of St. Martinique.  There is a holographic will and some subsequent codicils, and the case seems to involve a question of conflict of laws and the proof of a foreign judgment.  

Time Period the Case Covers: July 10, 1797 - December 1807.