Slaves could not sue. A great example was Dredd Scott, a slave who sued for his freedom because he and his master moved to up north to a free state. The case made it all the way to the supreme court and they rejected the case in its entirety with the logic that he was just property and not a citizens therefore he could not sue. https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4p2932.html