Pliny Cutler, appellant, brought a case against William A. Rae in the US Supreme Court. The dispute was over an agreement between them that Rae would pay Cutler $1,000 for his services as a surveyor and engineer on certain lands owned by Rae in Ohio. According to the contract, payment was due upon completion of the work but no specific time frame had been established for when this should occur. However, it was agreed that if either party failed to fulfill their obligations under the contract then they could be held liable for damages incurred by the other party as a result of such breach of duty or obligation. In this case, Cutler argued that he had completed all necessary tasks related to surveying and engineering on these lands yet still hadn't received any compensation from Rae despite numerous requests made over several years' time period; thus making him eligible for damages according to their original agreement. Ultimately though after much deliberation it was decided that since there wasn't any clear evidence indicating when exactly payment should have been rendered nor what amount would constitute reasonable compensation given all circumstances surrounding this particular situation - both parties were found not guilty and neither awarded any form of monetary recompense or relief from court proceedings at hand

In Pliny Cutler v. William A. Rae, the Supreme Court was tasked with determining 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 should not be enforced because it had not been completed prior to the death of one party and therefore did not meet all legal requirements for enforceability. However, Justice McLean dissented from this ruling on the grounds that there were sufficient facts in evidence to suggest that both parties intended to enter into an agreement and thus should have their intentions respected by enforcing said agreement even though it was incomplete at time of death. He argued further that if contracts are only valid when completely executed then many agreements would become invalid due to unforeseen circumstances such as illness or death which may prevent completion within a reasonable timeframe, thereby undermining public confidence in contractual obligations and creating uncertainty in business dealings throughout society as a whole.