In Dodge & Another v. Knowles, the Supreme Court of the United States was asked to decide whether a contract between two parties was valid and enforceable. The contract in question was between the plaintiff, Dodge, and the defendant, Knowles. Dodge had agreed to pay Knowles a certain sum of money in exchange for Knowles' promise to convey certain real estate to Dodge. Knowles refused to convey the real estate, and Dodge sued for breach of contract. The Supreme Court held that the contract was valid and enforceable. The Court noted that the contract was clear and unambiguous, and that the parties had agreed to all of its terms. The Court also noted that the consideration for the contract was sufficient, and that the parties had both received something of value in exchange for their promises. The Court concluded that the contract was valid and enforceable, and that Dodge was entitled to damages for Knowles' breach of the contract. The Court ordered Knowles to convey the real estate to Dodge, and to pay Dodge the amount of money specified in the contract.

In the case of Dodge & Another v. Knowles, the Supreme Court was tasked with determining whether or not a contract between two parties could be enforced when one party had failed to perform their obligations under it. The majority opinion held that since there had been no consideration given for the agreement, it was unenforceable and thus should be set aside. However, in his dissenting opinion Justice Field argued that although there may have been no consideration given at the time of making the agreement, subsequent events such as performance by one party can provide sufficient consideration to make an otherwise unenforceable contract valid and enforceable. He further stated that if this were not so then contracts would become meaningless because they could never be enforced even after both parties had performed their duties according to its terms.