Abraham Colby brought a case against James Ledden to the Supreme Court of the United States. Colby claimed that he was entitled to certain lands in Wisconsin, which had been granted by Congress under an act passed in 1836. The land was originally owned by two Native American tribes, who ceded it to the federal government and then sold it off as part of their treaty obligations with the US. However, when Colby attempted to purchase some of this land from Ledden, he discovered that his title was not valid due to a technicality: at the time of sale, there were still outstanding debts owed on these properties from previous owners. As such, Ledden argued that any subsequent sales made without first paying off those debts would be invalidated and thus could not be enforced in court. After considering both sides’ arguments carefully, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously for Ledden; they found that since no payment had been made on behalf of either party prior to transferral or possession taking place between them regarding said property rights - regardless if one party believed themselves legally entitled thereto - all claims related thereto must fail as being void ab initio (from its inception).

In this case, the Supreme Court was asked to decide whether a contract between Abraham Colby and James Ledden had been breached. The majority opinion held that the contract had not been breached because it did not contain any specific terms regarding how long Colby would be employed by Ledden. However, in his dissenting opinion Justice McLean argued that there was an implied term of employment for one year based on past practice and custom in such contracts. He further argued that since no notice of termination or dismissal was given prior to the expiration of one year, then Colby should have continued working until he received proper notice from Ledden. Therefore, according to Justice McLean's dissent, the breach of contract occurred when Ledden failed to give adequate notice before terminating Colby's employment after only nine months instead of twelve as required by law and custom at the time.