Bolles v. Brimfield is a United States Supreme Court case that was decided in 1887. The case involved a dispute between two parties over the ownership of a piece of land in Massachusetts. The plaintiff, Bolles, claimed that he had purchased the land from the defendant, Brimfield, in 1876. Brimfield, however, argued that he had never sold the land to Bolles and that he was still the rightful owner. The Supreme Court ultimately sided with Bolles, ruling that he had acquired the land through a valid purchase. The Court found that Bolles had provided sufficient evidence to prove that he had purchased the land from Brimfield, including a deed of sale and a receipt for the purchase price. The Court also noted that Brimfield had failed to provide any evidence to support his claim of ownership. As a result, the Court held that Bolles was the rightful owner of the land.

In Bolles v. Brimfield, the Supreme Court was asked to decide whether a state court had jurisdiction over an action brought by a non-resident plaintiff against a resident defendant. The majority opinion held that the state court did not have jurisdiction in this case because it lacked personal service of process on the defendant and therefore could not exercise its power over him. Justice Field dissented from this decision, arguing that due process requires only reasonable notice of suit and does not require actual service upon defendants who are residents of the forum state. He argued that since there was no dispute as to where the parties resided or what their relationship was with each other, there should be sufficient notice given through publication or posting so long as it is reasonably calculated to give such information to those affected by it. Furthermore, he noted that if states were allowed to deny justice based on technicalities like lack of personal service then they would be able to avoid their obligations under contracts made with out-of-state citizens which would lead them into conflict with other states' laws and policies regarding interstate commerce.