In County of Moultrie v. Fairfield, the Supreme Court of the United States was asked to decide whether a county could be held liable for damages caused by a defective bridge. The bridge in question was located in the county of Moultrie, and it had been constructed by the county. The bridge had been in use for several years when it suddenly collapsed, causing injury to a man who was crossing it at the time. The man sued the county for damages, arguing that the county was liable for the injuries he had suffered due to the defective bridge. The county argued that it was not liable because it had not been negligent in constructing the bridge. The Supreme Court agreed with the county, holding that the county was not liable for the damages caused by the defective bridge. The Court reasoned that the county had not been negligent in constructing the bridge, and thus it could not be held liable for the damages caused by the bridge's collapse.

Justice Field delivered the dissenting opinion in County of Moultrie v. Fairfield, arguing that the majority's decision was incorrect and should be reversed. He argued that a county cannot sue another county for debt without express statutory authority from the state legislature to do so. In this case, he noted there was no such statute granting permission for one county to sue another, thus making it impossible for Moultrie County to bring suit against Fairfield County. Furthermore, Justice Field argued that even if such a statute did exist allowing counties to sue each other directly over debts owed between them, it would still not apply in this case because of sovereign immunity principles which protect states and their subdivisions from being sued by other states or their subdivisions without consenting first. Therefore, Justice Field concluded that since neither condition had been met here - i.e., no authorizing statute nor waiver of sovereign immunity - then Moultrie County could not legally pursue its claim against Fairfield County and must instead seek relief through some other means outside of court proceedings