Baird v. Bland
File:MunfordsReports1816V3BairdvBland.pdf
Baird v. Bland, Munford Vol. III 570 (1811),[1] was a case involving whether a pre-marriage agreement, in the absence of a will, entitled the children of the marriage legal title of the estate.
Background
Theordorick Bland Sr. and Sarah Bland drafted a pre-marriage agreement conveying all slaves and property to the children of their union. While Theodorick and Sarah’s children were still minors, the couple passed away without a will. When Theodorick came of age, he discovered that a man named John Baird, through allegedly unlawful means, had gained possession of a slave named Will who was one of the slaves subject to his parent’s pre-marriage agreement. Theodorick and siblings requested the return of the slave and were refused. Theordorick Jr. sued Baird in the High Court of Chancery for the recovery of Will as well as the cost of profits from Will’s labor. Mr. Baird claimed that this suit had passed the statute of limitations and that he had bought Will as bona fide purchaser from a sheriff’s sale.
The Court's Decision
Chancellor Wythe found in support of the Plaintiffs and called for the return of Will as well as any profits from his labor. New evidence was brought that Will was sold due to a debt on the Theodorick estate in a Sheriff’s sale. However, Wythe reaffirmed his position. John Baird appealed. The Court of Appeals, after having the case re-argued before a full Court due to Chancery jurisdictional issues, reaffirmed the Chancellor’s opinion.
See also
References
- ↑ William Munford, Reports of Cases Argued and Determined in the Supreme Court of Appeals of Virginia, (New York: I. Riley, 1816), 570.
