John Conard, Marshal of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania brought a case against The Pacific Insurance Company of New York. At issue was whether or not the United States had a right to recover from an insurance company for damages caused by fire on board a vessel owned by them and insured with said company. The Supreme Court held that since there were no special circumstances in this particular case which would exempt it from general maritime law, the government did have such rights and could recover damages from the insurer. This decision established that when goods are destroyed at sea due to fire, even if they are uninsured, those responsible may be liable for any losses incurred as long as they can prove negligence or fault on their part.

In the case of John Conard, Marshal of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania v. The Pacific Insurance Company of New York, Justice McLean wrote a dissenting opinion in which he argued that Congress had no authority to pass laws regulating insurance companies as they are not within its enumerated powers. He further stated that if such power was granted by implication then it would be unconstitutional and void because it is an exercise of legislative power beyond what is delegated to Congress under Article I Section 8 Clause 18 (the Necessary and Proper Clause). He also noted that even if this clause could be used to grant such implied powers, there must still be some reasonable connection between them and those expressly given in order for them to stand. In his view, there was no such connection here since insurance companies do not fall into any category mentioned in the Constitution or any other law passed by Congress. As a result, he concluded that the act regulating these companies should have been declared invalid due to lack of constitutional authority.