Elizabeth Godinau, the widow of Baptiste Jourdain, prays the court to be compensated for the financial loss she incurred when the widow Patton's slave, James, caused her slave, Mangé, to become totally blind. She presents to the court that Mangé is a well-behaved and skilled cooper, who prior to the accident was worth $1,800 and whom she used to hire out for $45 per month. Now that he is blind, not only can Mangé no longer work and earn money but expenses have to be incurred to feed him and pay physicians to attend to him. Although Mrs. Patton had initially agreed to pay damages after "it should be certain that the said negro Mangé could not recover his sight," she "refused and still refuses" to settle. Elizabeth Godinau Jourdain asks for the estimated value of Mangé, the amount of his lost hires and cost of feeding him since his accident, and for reimbursement of the physician's fees.
Result: Granted; appealed; partially upheld.
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Repository: University of New Orleans
