In Course et al. v Stead et ux. et al., the Supreme Court of the United States heard a dispute between two parties over land in Kentucky. The plaintiffs, Course and others, claimed that they had purchased a tract of land from one John Brown for $1,000 in 1795 but were unable to obtain title due to an intervening deed given by Brown to defendants Stead and others prior to their purchase. The defendants argued that they had obtained good title from Brown before any claim was made by the plaintiffs and thus should be allowed possession of the property without paying compensation or damages for it. After considering both sides' arguments, the court held that while there was no evidence showing fraud on behalf of either party regarding their respective titles, since neither could prove superior right or equity in regard to ownership at trial level then each must bear his own costs as neither could prevail against another's legal rights under existing law at this time.

In Course et al. v Stead et ux. et al., the Supreme Court was asked to decide whether a deed of trust, which had been executed by William and Mary Stead in 1798, could be enforced against their son John who had inherited the property from his parents after they passed away in 1800. The majority opinion held that since John did not sign the deed himself, he was not bound by it and thus could not be compelled to pay off any debts associated with it. However, Justice Johnson wrote a dissenting opinion arguing that although John may have technically escaped liability for his parent's debt due to lack of signature on the document itself, he should still be liable as an equitable matter because he received benefits from inheriting his parents' estate without having paid off their debts first; this would set an unfair precedent if allowed to stand. Therefore Justice Johnson argued that even though there were technical issues preventing enforcement of the deed against John directly, equity demanded that he still bear responsibility for paying off his parent's obligations before receiving any benefit from them through inheritance or otherwise.