John D. Bowling brought a case against Jilson P. Harrison to the Supreme Court of the United States in 1848. The dispute was over an unpaid debt that had been incurred by Bowling from Harrison, and he sought payment for it through legal action. In this particular case, there were two issues at hand: whether or not the statute of limitations applied to this debt and if so, what amount should be paid out as damages? The court ultimately ruled in favor of Harrison on both counts; they determined that because more than three years had passed since the initial agreement between them was made, then any claim for repayment would have expired under Virginia's statute of limitations law at that time. Furthermore, even though some evidence suggested otherwise, no proof could be found to suggest that either party intended for interest payments beyond those already agreed upon when signing their contract - thus making any additional claims invalidated due to lack of sufficient evidence presented before court proceedings began.

In the case of John D. Bowling v. Jilson P. Harrison, Justice McLean delivered a dissenting opinion in which he argued that the court should have found for the plaintiff on his claim for damages arising from an alleged breach of contract by defendant Harrison. The majority had held that there was no evidence to support such a finding and thus dismissed the complaint without prejudice, but Justice McLean disagreed with this conclusion and believed that sufficient proof existed to establish liability on behalf of Harrison. He noted that while it may be true that some facts were not established beyond dispute, enough evidence had been presented to allow a jury trial so as to determine whether or not any agreement between parties actually existed and if so what its terms were; therefore, he concluded, dismissal was inappropriate in this instance since it deprived plaintiff Bowling of his right to seek redress through legal means due him under law.