This Supreme Court case involved Peter Dox, Gerritt La Grange, and Isaiah Townsend who were impleaded with Gerritt L. Dox as plaintiffs in error against the Postmaster-General of the United States as defendant in error. The dispute was over a contract between the post office department and Peter Dox to carry mail from New York City to Albany for two years beginning on July 1st 1825. The post office department had terminated this contract before its expiration date due to alleged violations by Mr. Dox which he denied having committed or being aware of any such violations taking place during his tenure as contractor for said route. He argued that he should be compensated for damages incurred due to breach of contract by the government but was unsuccessful at trial court level so appealed his case all the way up to Supreme Court where it was ultimately decided that no compensation would be awarded since there had been sufficient cause shown by evidence presented at trial court level regarding violation of terms agreed upon in original contract thus making termination lawful under those circumstances according to existing laws governing contracts made with federal government entities at time period when this particular agreement took place.

In this case, the plaintiffs in error argued that they were entitled to compensation for services rendered as postmasters. The Postmaster-General of the United States had refused to pay them on the grounds that their appointments were not authorized by law. In a dissenting opinion, Justice Story argued that Congress had intended for these individuals to be paid and thus should have been compensated accordingly. He further noted that it was unfair for Congress to pass laws without providing adequate means of enforcement or remedy when those laws are violated. As such, he concluded that if an individual has performed services under color of office and is then denied payment due solely because his appointment was unauthorized by law, he should still be able to recover damages from the government in order to receive fair compensation for his labor.