Plea and Replication in Clark v. Harrison, [2 May 1848]1
| Ezekiel B. Harrison |
| ads[ad sectam]2 |
| James Clark |
And the said Harrison by his attorney comes and defends [...?] where &c.[etc.] and for plea in this behalf says Plaintiff actio non[actionem non habere debet] &c–3 because he says that after the recovery of said judgement and before the commencement of this Suit Towit on the Day of Towit at the County and State aforesaid he the said Defendant fully paid and satisfied
to the said Plaintiff the said sum of [
?] in form aforesaid recovered and that he is ready to verify [...?] wherefore he prays Judgement &c–
John T Stuart p:d.[attorney for the defendant][ endorsement
]
| Clark |
| vs |
| Harrison |
And the said plaintiff comes, and as to the plea of the said defendant above pleaded
says precludi
non,4 because he says that said defendant did not pay and satisfy the said judgment in
manner and form, as in his said plea, he hath alleged; and of this the plaintiff puts
himself upon the country &c.
.Logan p.q[attorney for the plaintiff]5<Page 2>
1John T. Stuart wrote and signed the main body of this legal document. Abraham Lincoln
wrote the first endorsement, to which he signed David Logan’s name.
In May 1847, James Clark retained Lincoln and David Logan to sue Ezekiel Harrison
for payment of a $2,320 judgment obtained in the Christian County, Kentucky Circuit
Court in 1822. On October 25, 1848, the jury found in favor of Harrison.
Narratio (Document ID: 10014), 14 April 1847; Order (Document ID: 10022), 25 October
1848, Clark v. Harrison, Martha L. Benner and Cullom Davis et al., eds., The Law Practice of Abraham Lincoln: Complete Documentary Edition, 2d edition (Springfield: Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, 2009), http://lawpracticeofabrahamlincoln.org/Details.aspx?case=135812.
2 The Latin ad sectam indicates that the name of the defendant is given before that of the plaintiff. In
this case, Harrison was the defendant.
Henry Campbell Black, Black’s Law Dictionary, 5th ed. (St. Paul, MN: West, 1979), 47.
3“Actionem non habere debet” is a Latin phrase that declares that the plaintiff in
a common law case “ought not to have or maintain” legal action against the defendant.
Henry Campbell Black, Black’s Law Dictionary, 29.
Autograph Document Signed, 2 page(s), Abraham Lincoln Papers, Library of Congress (Washington, DC).