In the 1945 case of Asbury Hospital v. Cass County, the U.S Supreme Court ruled in favor of Asbury Hospital. The hospital had filed a lawsuit against Cass County and other defendants for non-payment of services rendered to county patients. The defendants argued that they were not liable for payment because there was no formal agreement or contract between them and the hospital regarding these services. However, the court found that an implied contract did exist based on past practices where such payments were made by counties under similar circumstances without any written agreements in place. Therefore, it held that even though there was no express contract between both parties, an implied contractual relationship existed due to their conduct over time which created a reasonable expectation for compensation from one party to another.

The dissenting opinion in the Asbury Hospital v. Cass County case argued that the majority's decision to allow a county hospital exemption from taxation was inconsistent with previous rulings and interpretations of North Dakota law. The dissent pointed out that prior cases had established that only property used exclusively for public purposes could be exempted from taxation, and this did not include hospitals operated by counties or other governmental entities. They contended that such hospitals were engaged in business activities rather than purely public functions, as they charged fees for services and competed with private institutions. Therefore, according to the dissenters, these facilities should not qualify for tax exemptions under state law.