Charlotte A. Parish, the appellant in this case, brought a suit against Harvey W. Ellis and his wife, the appellees. The dispute concerned an agreement between Parish and Ellis that was made prior to their marriage whereby Ellis promised to pay her $500 per year for life if she would marry him. After they were married, however, he refused to fulfill his promise of payment or provide any other support for her beyond what was required by law at the time of their marriage contract. The court found that while there had been no written agreement between them regarding these payments before they wed, it could be inferred from circumstantial evidence such as letters exchanged between them during courtship and testimony given by witnesses who knew about the arrangement that there had indeed been an oral understanding on both sides concerning said payments which constituted a valid contract under Virginia law at the time of its formation; thus making it enforceable in court despite not being reduced into writing beforehand as is usually required with contracts involving real estate transactions or those lasting longer than one year's duration according to state statutes then in effect. As such, judgment was rendered in favor of Parish ordering Ellis to make good on his promise and pay her $500 annually until death should part them

In the case of Charlotte A. Parish v Harvey W. Ellis and Wife, the Supreme Court was asked to decide whether a deed from an infant heir could be enforced against her when she reached adulthood. The majority opinion held that such a deed would not be binding on the adult as it had been made while they were still legally unable to enter into contracts or conveyances. However, Justice McLean dissented from this decision arguing that since there was no fraud involved in making the deed and it had been approved by two courts prior to its execution, it should have been upheld as valid even after reaching adulthood. He argued that if infants are allowed to make deeds with their guardians' approval then those deeds should remain enforceable once they reach maturity unless there is evidence of fraud or coercion at play during their creation.