In Bank v. McVeigh, the United States Supreme Court was asked to decide whether a bank could recover a debt from a third party who had received money from the debtor. The case involved a dispute between the Bank of the United States and John McVeigh, who had received money from the debtor, William McVeigh. The Bank argued that it had a right to recover the debt from John McVeigh, as he had received money from the debtor. The Supreme Court held that the Bank could not recover the debt from John McVeigh, as he had not received the money with the intent to defraud the Bank. The Court reasoned that the Bank had not shown that John McVeigh had received the money with the intent to defraud the Bank, and thus the Bank could not recover the debt from him. The Court also noted that the Bank had not taken any steps to protect itself from the risk of nonpayment by the debtor. The Court's decision in Bank v. McVeigh established that a bank cannot recover a debt from a third party who has received money from the debtor, unless the bank can show that the third party had received the money with the intent to defraud the Bank. This decision has been cited in numerous cases since then, and has become an important precedent in the area of debt collection.

Justice Field delivered the dissenting opinion in Bank v. McVeigh, arguing that a state court had jurisdiction to hear and decide a case involving an alleged breach of contract between two citizens of different states. He argued that the Constitution did not grant exclusive jurisdiction over such cases to federal courts, nor did it prevent state courts from hearing them. Furthermore, he noted that Congress had never passed any law granting exclusive jurisdiction over such matters to federal courts either. Justice Field concluded by stating his belief that if Congress wanted all controversies between citizens of different states to be heard exclusively in federal court then they should pass legislation making this clear rather than relying on judicial interpretation of the Constitution alone.