Alexander Dennistoun, John Dennistoun, William Craig Mylne and William Wood were partners under the style of A. Dennistoun & Company who brought a case against Roger Stewart to the US Supreme Court. The plaintiffs argued that they had purchased goods from Stewart in 1848 with an agreement for payment at a later date but that he had failed to deliver them as promised. They sought damages for breach of contract and requested restitution of their money plus interest due on it since 1849 when they paid him in full according to his promise. The court ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, ordering Stewart to pay them back all monies owed plus interest accrued since 1849 or face imprisonment until such time as he did so.

In the case of Alexander Dennistoun, John Dennistoun, William Craig Mylne and William Wood v. Roger Stewart, the dissenting opinion was that a contract between two parties should be enforced as written. The majority opinion had held that because one party to the contract had failed to perform their obligations in accordance with its terms due to circumstances outside of their control (namely an act of God), they were not liable for damages resulting from breach of contract. However, Justice McLean argued that this would set a dangerous precedent by allowing parties who fail to fulfill contractual obligations due to external forces beyond their control off the hook without any consequences or liability for damages incurred by other parties involved in said contracts. He further argued that if such a principle were adopted it could lead people into entering into contracts which may never be fulfilled and thus create uncertainty in commercial transactions and ultimately harm commerce itself.