William S. Buckner, a citizen of New York, brought suit against Finley and Van Lear, citizens of the state of Maryland in 1829. The case was heard by the US Supreme Court which determined that it had no jurisdiction to hear this particular dispute as it involved two private individuals from different states. The court stated that such disputes must be resolved through state courts or other means outside the federal judicial system since there is no provision for such cases in Article III of the Constitution. This ruling established an important precedent regarding diversity jurisdiction and set limits on what types of cases can be heard by federal courts. It also highlighted how individual states have authority over certain matters within their borders while still allowing for some degree of uniformity across all jurisdictions when necessary.

In the case of William S. Buckner v. Finley and Van Lear, the Supreme Court was asked to decide whether a state court had jurisdiction over a dispute between citizens of different states. The majority opinion held that it did not, but Justice Story dissented from this decision on the grounds that such disputes should be resolved in state courts as long as they are within their respective jurisdictions. He argued that allowing federal courts to hear cases involving citizens of different states would lead to an unnecessary increase in litigation costs and delay resolution of important issues for both parties involved. Furthermore, he believed that Congress had never intended for federal courts to have exclusive jurisdiction over all interstate disputes when it passed its Judiciary Act in 1789; rather, he argued that Congress meant only for them to have concurrent jurisdiction with state courts so long as those matters were within their respective jurisdictions. Thus, Justice Story concluded by asserting his belief that state court decisions should remain binding on parties who are subject to them unless overturned by higher authority or found unconstitutional under applicable law or precedent set forth by the Supreme Court itself