Case Details

Berry et al., administrators of Ernst v. Ernst

Case # 000720, 000784

Appellant/Plaintiff

Elijah C. Berry, William H. Brown, Frederick Hollman administrators of the estate of Ferdinand Ernst, deceased

Appellee/Defendant

Mary Ann Ernst

Appellant/Plaintiff Attorneys

Brown

Appellee/Defendant Attorneys

Alfred Cowles

County of Origin

Fayette County

Justice

Justice William Wilson Justice Theophilus W. Smith

Terms of Court

December 1829

Type of Case

Not Listed

Disposition

Affirmed in part, Reversed in part

Citation

1 Ill 316

Case Summary

Mary Ann Ernst, widow of Ferdinand Ernst, sued the administrators of his estate over a dispute concerning Ferdinand Ernst's debts to the State Bank of Illinois. The circuit court ruled for Mary Ann Ernst, and the administrators appealed to the Illinois Supreme Court. The Court affirmed the legislature's 1828 law releasing Ferdinand Ernst's estate, directing proceeds from land sales to Mary Ann Ernst. The administrators, challenging the law's validity, sold lands on credit. The court found the state had the authority to order sales. The circuit court's decree was partly affirmed, with $742.88 granted to the complainant, and partly reversed in regard to excluding $105 from specific land sales.