Alanson Saltmarsh v. James W. Tuthill was a case heard by the United States Supreme Court in 1851 that dealt with the issue of whether or not an individual had standing to bring suit against another for damages caused by negligence. The plaintiff, Alanson Saltmarsh, alleged that he had been injured after being thrown from his horse due to the defendant's negligent construction of a bridge across a public highway near his residence. The court held that although there was no direct contract between them, Saltmarsh did have standing to sue because he suffered special and peculiar damage as a result of Tuthill’s negligence which could be compensated through money damages. This decision established precedent for future cases involving tort law and personal injury claims brought against individuals who negligently cause harm without any contractual relationship between them and their victims

In Alanson Saltmarsh v. James W. Tuthill, the Supreme Court was asked to decide whether a state court had jurisdiction over an action brought by a non-resident plaintiff against a resident defendant in the state of New York. The majority opinion held that such jurisdiction did exist and affirmed the judgment of the lower court; however, Justice McLean dissented from this decision on several grounds. He argued that under Article III Section 2 of the Constitution, only federal courts have original jurisdiction in cases between citizens of different states and thus it is unconstitutional for any other court to exercise such power. Furthermore, he noted that even if there were some constitutional basis for allowing state courts to hear these types of cases, no statute or common law rule existed which would grant them authority over actions involving non-residents at this time - making it impossible for them to do so without violating due process rights guaranteed by both federal and state constitutions. Finally, he concluded his dissent with an argument about how granting states too much power could lead to dangerous consequences as they may be tempted into exercising their own laws instead of following those established by Congress or higher authorities like treaties made with foreign nations – something which could ultimately undermine our national unity and sovereignty as well as create conflicts between individual states’ interests versus those shared among all Americans collectively