This Supreme Court case involved Edward H. Castle, Elihu Granger, and J.P. Phillips as plaintiffs in error against Edward F Bullard as defendant in error. The dispute was over the ownership of a tract of land located in Illinois that had been originally owned by Joseph Filkins who died without leaving a will or any other form of testamentary disposition to determine how his property should be divided among his heirs after death. The plaintiffs argued that they were entitled to an equal share of the land based on their relationship with Filkins while the defendant argued that he was entitled to exclusive possession due to adverse possession laws which stated that if someone has occupied another's property for more than seven years then they are legally considered its owner regardless of title or deed status. Ultimately, the court sided with the defendants ruling that since he had been occupying it for more than seven years prior to this lawsuit being filed then he was indeed its rightful owner according to state law and thus granted him exclusive rights over it despite not having legal title or deed documents proving ownership at time suit began .

In the case of Edward H. Castle, Elihu Granger, and J. P. Phillips v. Edward F Bullard, the dissenting opinion was that the court should have considered a previous decision in which it was determined that an executor had no right to sell real estate without first obtaining permission from a probate court or other authority with jurisdiction over such matters. The majority opinion held that since there were no specific laws governing this situation at the time of sale, then it could be assumed that Bullard acted in good faith when he purchased property from Filkins' estate without seeking approval from any higher authority; however, Justice McLean argued against this conclusion by noting precedent set by prior decisions on similar cases and insisting upon adherence to established law rather than allowing for exceptions based on individual circumstances or lack thereof regarding applicable statutes at the time of sale.