Mulkey's bill stated that in December 1862 he had traded a house and plot of land worth [dollars] 1,000 for a 24-year-old slave called Ann. McAffee warranted that Ann was of sound health, but she died in February 1863 from a lung condition that Mulkey believed must have been in existence since before the sale. McAffee pleaded that the Reconstruction constitution of Georgia denied courts jurisdiction in cases for debt under contracts involving the sale or hire of slaves. A physician testified that such symptoms as Ann showed immediately before her death indicated that the condition from which she suffered must have had its onset some time before she was sold. The jury found for Mulkey to the amount of [dollars] 1,100 plus costs and McAffee moved for a new trial. The Supreme Court confirmed the judgment.
