Jesse James Fought a Civil Suit, and the Civil Suit Won

We're a little late in getting this to you, but the news was dated anyway (hat tip to How Appealing).

Jesse James above the law? Apparently not.

On Monday, The Kansas City Star reported on newly-unearthed legal documents showing that, in 1870, Jessie James was successfully sued in civil court by a young Kansas City attorney named Henry McDougal. After James lost his horse during a combined bank robbery and murder, he stole another man's steed. To compensate for the loss, McDougal's horseless client sought to claim James' own mount, the equivalent of "a Ferrari," according to Jim Muehlberger, the attorney who stumbled upon the documents last month.

At stake was the significant sum of $223.50 worth of horse and riding gear. Surprisingly, James lawyered up, leaving McDougal to figure out how to serve papers on the West's most notorious killer and live to tell about it.

We won't disclose subsequent events, which turn potentially homicidal. As property squabbles go, this one's worth a read.