Carver v. Upton, Assignee was a United States Supreme Court case that dealt with the issue of whether a debtor could be held liable for a debt that was assigned to a third party. The case involved a dispute between a debtor, Carver, and his creditor, Upton, who had assigned the debt to a third party, the assignee. The Supreme Court held that the assignee was not liable for the debt, as the assignment was not valid under the law. The Court reasoned that the assignment was not valid because it was not made in writing, and the assignee had not given consideration for the debt. The Court also held that the assignee was not liable for the debt because the debtor had not been given notice of the assignment. The Court's decision in this case established that a debtor cannot be held liable for a debt that has been assigned to a third party without the debtor's knowledge or consent. This decision has been cited in numerous cases since, and has been used to protect debtors from being held liable for debts that have been assigned without their knowledge or consent.

In Carver v. Upton, Assignee, the Supreme Court was tasked with determining whether a contract between two parties could be enforced when one of the parties had died before its completion. The majority opinion held that it could not; however, Justice Field dissented from this decision and argued that contracts should still be enforceable even if one party has passed away prior to their fulfillment. He reasoned that since both parties had agreed to the terms of the contract in good faith and for mutual benefit, there is no reason why they should not remain bound by those terms after death. Furthermore, he noted that allowing such contracts to stand would provide an incentive for people to fulfill their obligations while alive rather than waiting until after death as a way of avoiding them altogether. Ultimately, Justice Field concluded that enforcing these types of agreements would serve justice better than denying them outright due to unforeseen circumstances beyond either party's control