In the case of Claims of Marcuard et al., the Supreme Court of the United States was asked to decide whether the United States was liable for damages caused by the destruction of a vessel owned by the claimants. The claimants argued that the vessel was destroyed by a United States vessel, and that the United States was therefore liable for the damages. The Supreme Court held that the United States was not liable for the damages, as the destruction of the vessel was not the result of any negligence or wrongful act on the part of the United States. The Court reasoned that the destruction of the vessel was the result of a storm, and that the United States vessel was merely in the vicinity of the vessel when it was destroyed. The Court concluded that the United States was not liable for the damages, as it had not acted negligently or wrongfully in any way.

In the case of Claims of Marcuard et al., the Supreme Court was asked to decide whether a patent for an invention had been infringed upon. The majority opinion held that it had not, but Justice Field dissented from this decision. He argued that the evidence presented by Marcuard and his co-plaintiffs showed clear infringement on their patent rights. In particular, he noted that there were several similarities between their patented device and those used by defendants in question which could not be explained away as mere coincidence or independent development. Furthermore, he pointed out that even if some differences existed between them, they did not change the fact that both devices operated in substantially similar ways with respect to achieving a desired result - something which is protected under existing patent law. As such, Justice Field concluded that Marcuard's claims should have been upheld and damages awarded accordingly.