Ayers v. Watson was a Supreme Court case that was decided in 1881. The case involved a dispute between two parties over the ownership of a piece of land in the state of Mississippi. The plaintiff, William Ayers, claimed that he had purchased the land from the defendant, William Watson, in 1876. Watson, however, argued that he had never sold the land to Ayers and that he was still the rightful owner. The Supreme Court ultimately sided with Ayers, ruling that he had indeed purchased the land from Watson in 1876. The Court found that Watson had made a verbal agreement to sell the land to Ayers and that this agreement was legally binding. The Court also found that Watson had failed to provide any evidence that he had not sold the land to Ayers. As a result, the Court ruled in favor of Ayers and ordered Watson to transfer the title of the land to him.

In the Supreme Court case of Ayers v. Watson, Justice Harlan delivered a dissenting opinion in which he argued that the majority had misinterpreted the facts and law of the case. He believed that under Alabama law, an executor was not liable for debts incurred by his testator prior to his appointment as executor, even if those debts were unpaid at death. Furthermore, he argued that it would be unjust to hold an executor responsible for such debts since they could have been paid off before or after their appointment without any fault on their part. In conclusion, Justice Harlan maintained that there was no legal basis upon which to impose liability on Ayers and thus reversed the decision of lower courts in favor of Watson's claim against him.