Harvey is discussing facts related to the case, Harvey et al. v. Campbell et al. In the case, Harvey sued Archa Campbell and others in the Champaign County Circuit Court for fraud related to lands that Harvey purchased in 1850. In 1852, Harvey gave Campbell power of attorney to sell 42.42 acres of land that Harvey claimed belonged to his two children. In 1853, Campbell sold the land to Moses P. Snelling for $1,000, and, in 1856, Snelling sold the land back to Campbell for $2,000. Campbell subsequently sold half the land to John Condit Smith for $5,000 and the other half of the land to Andrew J. Galloway for $3,750. The land had increased in value after a railroad depot was constructed nearby. When Harvey returned to the area in 1856, he retained Lincoln and sued Campbell and others, claiming that he had not received any of the proceeds of the land sales and that Campbell sold the land for less than it was worth.

All of the defendants—save Campbell—defaulted, and Campbell responded that he had never intended to defraud Harvey. In October 1859, the Champaign County Circuit Court ruled for Harvey, awarding him $3,792 in damages. However, in April 1860, the court ordered the case stricken from the docket. Harvey appealed to the Illinois Supreme Court, asserting that the Champaign County Circuit Court struck the case before the final decree, should have voided the land sales, and should not have allowed a default. In January 1863, the Illinois Supreme Court reversed the lower court’s judgment and remanded the case back to the Champaign County Circuit Court. In April 1863, on Harvey’s motion, the circuit court dismissed the remanded case.