Andrew Erwin, appellant, brought a case against William S. Parham, James Dick and Henry R. W. Hill in the Supreme Court of the United States to recover damages for an alleged breach of contract between himself and the defendants. The dispute arose when Erwin entered into an agreement with Parham to purchase certain lands from him at a specified price but was unable to pay it due to financial difficulties caused by his creditors’ interference with his property rights. The court held that although Erwin had not fully performed his part of the bargain as required by law, he was still entitled to receive compensation for any losses suffered as a result of Parham's failure or refusal to perform on their agreement; thus affirming that parties must be held accountable for their contractual obligations even if they are unable or unwilling fulfill them completely due to outside influences beyond their control such as creditor interference in this case.

In the case of Andrew Erwin v. William S. Parham, James Dick, and Henry R. W. Hill, Justice McLean wrote a dissenting opinion in which he argued that the majority's decision was wrongfully based on an erroneous interpretation of Georgia law regarding contracts between minors and adults for goods or services provided by the minor to the adult. He noted that under Georgia law at this time, such contracts were voidable but not necessarily void; thus any contract made with a minor could be voided if it was found to be unfair or unconscionable when examined upon reaching adulthood by either party involved in said contract. Furthermore, Justice McLean argued that even if there had been some form of fraud committed against Erwin as a minor when entering into his agreement with Parham et al., it would still have been necessary for him to prove damages resulting from said fraud before being able to recover anything from them as compensation for those damages - something which he failed to do in this particular case according to both state and federal laws governing civil actions at this time period