Augustus and Edward Bonnafee, partners under the name and style of Bonnafee & Co., brought a case against Ira E. Williams, Charles S. Spann, and B. H. Cook to the U.S Supreme Court in 1845 for breach of contract regarding a shipment of cotton from Mobile to New York City that was never delivered as promised by the defendants in error (Williams et al). The plaintiffs argued that they had been damaged due to their reliance on false representations made by Williams et al about how long it would take for them to deliver the goods; however, this argument was rejected by the court who found no evidence that any such promises were ever made or relied upon when entering into an agreement with Williams et al regarding delivery timescales for said goods. Ultimately, it was decided that there had been no breach of contract on behalf of either party involved in this dispute and thus both parties were dismissed without prejudice from further proceedings at law or equity concerning this matter

The dissenting opinion in this case argued that the lower court had erred in its decision to award damages to the defendants. The dissent argued that there was no evidence of any agreement between the parties, and therefore, no basis for awarding damages. Furthermore, it was noted that even if an agreement did exist between them, such an agreement would be unenforceable due to a lack of consideration on either side. Additionally, it was asserted that even if some form of consideration could be established by one party or another, then only nominal damages should have been awarded as opposed to actual damage awards granted by the lower court's ruling. Ultimately, it was concluded that since there were insufficient grounds for granting any type of relief whatsoever under existing law at the time - let alone substantial monetary compensation - then justice demanded a reversal of judgment from what had been handed down by the lower court.