In Bloomfield v. Charter Oak Bank, the Supreme Court of the United States was asked to decide whether a bank could be held liable for the wrongful acts of its officers. The case arose when the plaintiff, Bloomfield, sued the defendant, Charter Oak Bank, for damages resulting from the bank's officers' misappropriation of funds. The Court held that the bank could be held liable for the wrongful acts of its officers. The Court reasoned that the bank was responsible for the acts of its officers because the officers were acting within the scope of their authority as agents of the bank. The Court further held that the bank was liable for the acts of its officers even if the officers acted without the knowledge or consent of the bank. The Court's decision in Bloomfield v. Charter Oak Bank established that banks can be held liable for the wrongful acts of their officers. This decision has been cited in numerous subsequent cases and has become an important precedent in the area of corporate law.

Justice Field delivered the dissenting opinion in Bloomfield v. Charter Oak Bank, arguing that the majority's decision was contrary to both law and justice. He argued that under Connecticut law, a bank could not be held liable for failing to pay out on an unendorsed check unless it had been given notice of any defect in title or endorsement prior to payment. In this case, there was no evidence presented that such notice had ever been provided by either party before payment was made; thus, Justice Field concluded that the defendant should have prevailed as a matter of law. Furthermore, he noted that even if there were some legal basis for holding the bank liable without proof of notice being given beforehand, equity would still dictate against recovery since neither party acted with due diligence when dealing with each other's interests at stake here. Ultimately then, Justice Field believed strongly enough in his position to dissent from the majority opinion and argue instead for dismissal of plaintiff's claim against defendant bank altogether.