| Summary: | Daniel Jones died intestate in 1838. A caveat was raised as to the probate of his will, so his widow, Ann, was appointed his administrator pendente lite (pending a case). She subsequently married one McElrath, who had an execution for debt levied on him by a deputy of Carson, the defendant, the sheriff of Rutherford county. The deputy sold Daniel Jones's slave James for [dollars] 401. After these events, in 1840, the plaintiff, Satterwhite, was appointed Daniel Jones's administrator with the will annexed. He then maintained trover against Carson for the sale of James. Carson's counsel insisted that McElrath and the deputy had been within their rights to sell James, and that as the sale had happened before Satterwhite was appointed he could not recover. The court determined that Carson and his deputy had had no right in law to levy on Jones's property, held by McElrath's wife as Jones's administrator pendente lite, to pay McElrath's debts, and the jury found for Satterwhite, awarding him [dollars] 401 plus interest. Carson appealed. The Supreme Court upheld the lower court's verdict other than the award to Satterwhite of interest, which it reversed.
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