Mary Ann Connor, also known as Mary Ann Van Ness, was the tenant in a case brought before the US Supreme Court. She had sued Samuel A. Peugh's Lessee for possession of land that she claimed to have been unlawfully taken from her by him and his predecessors-in-title. The court found that although there were some irregularities in how title to the property passed between parties prior to Peugh’s acquisition of it, he was still entitled to possess it because he had acquired it through legal means and with good faith reliance on its validity. Furthermore, since Connor did not dispute any part of this chain of title or provide evidence that would prove otherwise, she could not establish her right to possession over Peugh’s claim. As such, the court ruled against her and affirmed judgment for defendant below which denied recovery for plaintiff above (Connor).

In this case, the plaintiff in error argued that a deed of trust was invalid because it did not contain an express covenant to pay taxes. The Supreme Court disagreed and held that the deed was valid despite its lack of such a covenant. In his dissenting opinion, Justice Grier argued that although deeds are generally presumed to be valid even without an express tax payment clause, there must still be some evidence from which one can infer the intention of parties involved in order for such presumption to apply. He further stated that when no evidence exists as to what either party intended with regard to taxes on property conveyed by deed, then any ambiguity should be resolved against those claiming title under it. Therefore he concluded that since there was no indication from either party regarding their intentions concerning taxation on the property at issue here, then the deed should have been declared invalid due to its failure include an explicit promise or agreement about paying taxes.