Tampa argues 1861 debt can't be repaid

TAMPA, Fla., April 9 (UPI) -- Tampa officials have asked a court to dismiss a lawsuit seeking $22 million in payment of a debt incurred during the Civil War.

In legal papers, the city contends Joan Kennedy Biddle is way too late to try to collect, The Tampa Tribune reported.

"We don't even know that the note hadn't been paid," City Attorney David Smith said. "We don't have evidence either way. It's one of the reasons the statute of limitations is a reasonable defense."

Biddle and other family members are attempting to collect on a promissory note for $299.58 issued in 1861 to a business partnership, Kennedy and Darling. They claim that with interest the total is now more than $22 million.

In addition to the fact that the Kennedys are trying to collect 147 years after the fact, the city has argued that it is barred by law from repaying the debt -- if it is in fact still unpaid. The 14th Amendment, the city notes, bans payment of "any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States" and the original law was used to purchase ammunition.