Clinton et al. v. Englebrecht was a case heard by the United States Supreme Court in 1871. The case involved a dispute between two parties over the ownership of a piece of land in the state of Illinois. The plaintiff, Clinton, claimed that he had purchased the land from the defendant, Englebrecht, and that Englebrecht had failed to deliver a deed to the property. Englebrecht argued that he had never sold the land to Clinton and that the deed was never delivered. The Supreme Court ultimately ruled in favor of Clinton, finding that Englebrecht had indeed sold the land to Clinton and that Englebrecht had failed to deliver the deed. The Court held that Englebrecht was liable for the damages caused by his failure to deliver the deed, and ordered him to pay Clinton the amount of the purchase price plus interest. The Court's decision in this case established the principle that a party who fails to deliver a deed to a piece of property is liable for the damages caused by their failure to do so. This principle has been applied in numerous cases since then, and is still used today.

In Clinton et al. v. Englebrecht, the Supreme Court was asked to decide whether a state court had jurisdiction over an action brought by citizens of one state against citizens of another in which the amount in controversy exceeded $500 and did not involve real estate or title to land. The majority opinion held that such cases were within the exclusive jurisdiction of federal courts, while Justice Field dissented on behalf of himself and two other justices. He argued that Congress had no authority under Article III Section 2 Clause 1 (the "diversity clause") to restrict a state's power to hear civil actions between its own citizens as well as those from other states where there is diversity in citizenship but no matter involving real estate or title to land involved; he further noted that this restriction would be contrary both to precedent established prior to passage of the Judiciary Act and also common law principles regarding judicial powers vested with each individual state government.