This case was a dispute between two parties, Case and Beauregard, over a contract for the sale of a steamboat. Case had agreed to purchase the steamboat from Beauregard for $2,000, and had paid $1,000 in cash and given Beauregard a promissory note for the remaining $1,000. Beauregard then sold the steamboat to another party, and Case sued for breach of contract. The Supreme Court held that the contract between Case and Beauregard was valid and enforceable. The Court found that the $1,000 cash payment and the promissory note constituted sufficient consideration for the contract, and that the contract was binding on both parties. The Court also held that Beauregard was liable for damages for breach of contract, and that Case was entitled to recover the $1,000 he had paid in cash, as well as the $1,000 he was owed under the promissory note.

In the case of Case v. Beauregard, the Supreme Court was asked to decide whether a contract between two parties could be enforced when it had been made without consideration. The majority opinion held that such contracts were not enforceable because they lacked consideration and thus did not meet the requirements for an enforceable contract under existing law. However, Justice Field dissented from this decision on the grounds that there should be no requirement of consideration in order for a contract to be valid and binding upon both parties. He argued that if two people agreed to something in good faith then their agreement should stand regardless of any lack of exchange or benefit received by either party as part of making said agreement. Furthermore, he stated that requiring some form of consideration would lead to more litigation over what constituted sufficient value exchanged rather than allowing agreements made in good faith alone to stand on their own merits.