Anna Maria Thornton, executrix of William Thornton, brought a case against the Bank of Washington to the Supreme Court. She argued that her late husband had been wrongfully denied his share in a lottery prize due to an error by the bank. The bank claimed that it was not liable for any damages as they were only acting on behalf of another party and did not have direct knowledge or involvement with the lottery ticket itself. However, after considering all evidence presented before them, including testimony from both parties and other witnesses involved in this matter, the court ruled in favor of Anna Maria Thornton and ordered that she be compensated for her losses incurred as a result of this dispute. This ruling established important precedent regarding liability when dealing with third-party transactions involving financial matters such as lotteries or investments.

In the case of Anna Maria Thornton, Executrix of William Thornton v. The Bank of Washington, Justice McLean delivered a dissenting opinion in which he argued that the plaintiff was entitled to recover damages from the defendant bank for their failure to pay on an accepted bill of exchange. He reasoned that when a person accepts and pays a bill they are liable for any losses incurred by non-payment; thus, since the defendant had accepted and failed to pay on this particular bill, it should be held responsible for any resulting losses suffered by its holder. Furthermore, Justice McLean noted that if banks were allowed to accept bills without being held accountable then such practices would lead to great injustice as holders would have no recourse against them in cases where payment is not made. As such, he concluded that justice demanded judgment in favor of the plaintiff and urged his colleagues on the court to reverse their decision accordingly.