TAMPA - A Tampa woman is more than a century too late in her attempt to be repaid $22 million for a $300 loan her ancestors made to the city during the Civil War, Tampa officials say.
In its legal filings, the city says the delay by Joan Kennedy Biddle and her family in asking for the money is "completely unreasonable, inexcusable and unprecedented." The city filed a motion Tuesday to dismiss the lawsuit.
"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 referred calls to attorney James Purdy, who did not return a phone call.
At issue is the suit Biddle and her relatives filed last month against the city claiming the city issued a $299.58 promissory note on June 28, 1861, to Kennedy and Darling, a business partnership at the time. The money was to be used for ammunition and other war-related needs.
The note was passed down through the generations; the suit says with interest, the note is now worth $22.72 million.
In its motion to dismiss, the city argues the statute of limitations has run out and that the 14th Amendment says neither the United States nor any state must "pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States."
The city also argues the state of Florida used a currency during the Civil War that is now obsolete, and Confederate currency is worthless.
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