Woman Demands To Collect Civil War Debt Payment

Tampa, FL (AHN) - A 77-year-old woman filed a $22.7 million lawsuit against the city of Tampa for not paying back a loan given by her great-grandmother during the Civil War.

Joan Kennedy Biddle, said that her ancestor Thomas Pugh Kennedy loaned the city $300, and in return received a promissory note, with the city promising to give the money back. The note was dated June 21, 1861.

"This thing has been in the family since the date of the note, and it has never been repaid," Biddle told Fox News. "My daddy told me, and I certainly believe him."

David Smith, the city attorney, said that the claim would not be considered valid in court. Biddle's attorney, however, fired back that the note was issued during a time when the state had no statutes on the note.

According to the UPI, the suit is seeking the total amount of the loan, plus an annual interest of 8 percent.

The case was filed at the city's Hillsborough Circuit Court.