Submitted by Richard Hungerford at 7:09 AM on February 2, 2021.
The New York Legal Observer Containing Reports of Cases Decided in the Courts of Equity and Common Law
Page 409 contains a case stemming from a suit brought by Orville Hungerford (SH90). In late 1847, Orville Hungerford, who resumed his presidency of the Jefferson County Bank after his political career ended, sued the powerful Wall Street financial firm Prime, Ward & Co. for squandering his bank's money by speculating in the flour market. The New York trial court had granted Hungerford a judgment of $70,000. Hungerford, who was later joined by other creditors, asked the court to issue Stillwell warrants, which caused the sheriff to arrest Edward Prime, Samuel Ward (lobbyist), and John Ward based on the legal theory that they were about to remove their assets in the United States to pay creditors in England. The defendants attempted to quash the warrants based on lack of jurisdiction and insufficient affidavits, but were unsuccessful.