Croxall v. Shererd was a case heard by the United States Supreme Court in 1866. The plaintiff, Croxall, brought suit against the defendant, Shererd, for damages resulting from an assault and battery committed by Shererd upon him while he was working on his farm. The court found that although there had been no actual physical contact between the two men during the altercation which led to the lawsuit being filed, it still constituted an actionable tort as defined under common law principles of trespass and assault and battery due to its nature as a threat of imminent harm or violence towards another person's body or property. Furthermore, they held that even though Croxall had not suffered any actual injury from this incident itself - such as broken bones or bruises - he could still recover nominal damages for mental suffering caused by fear of bodily harm if proven before a jury at trial. Ultimately, judgment was entered in favor of Croxall with $100 awarded in nominal damages for his emotional distress stemming from this incident.

In Croxall v. Shererd, the Supreme Court was asked to decide whether a contract between two parties could be enforced when one of them had died before it was fully executed. The majority opinion held that the contract could not be enforced because it had not been completed prior to death and thus did not meet all requirements for enforceability under state law. Justice Field dissented from this decision, arguing that contracts should generally be upheld if they are partially performed by both parties prior to one party's death and there is no evidence of fraud or mistake in their formation. He further argued that such contracts should still remain valid even after the death of one party as long as performance can still take place without any additional consideration being required from either side; otherwise, he reasoned, innocent third-parties who rely on these agreements would suffer unjustly due to circumstances beyond their control.