In Evansville Bank v. Britton, the Supreme Court of the United States was asked to decide whether a bank could be held liable for a check that was issued without the knowledge or consent of the bank. The case involved a check that was issued by a customer of the bank, without the bank's knowledge or consent. The check was presented to the bank for payment, and the bank paid it. The bank then sued the customer for the amount of the check, claiming that the customer was liable for the payment. The Supreme Court held that the bank was not liable for the payment of the check. The Court reasoned that the bank had no knowledge or consent to the issuance of the check, and therefore could not be held liable for the payment. The Court further held that the customer was liable for the payment of the check, as the customer had issued the check without the bank's knowledge or consent. In conclusion, the Supreme Court held that the bank was not liable for the payment of the check, and the customer was liable for the payment. The Court reasoned that the bank had no knowledge or consent to the issuance of the check, and therefore could not be held liable for the payment.

In Evansville Bank v. Britton, the Supreme Court was tasked with determining whether a bank could recover on an unpaid note given to it by two individuals who had since died. The majority opinion held that the bank could not recover because of a state statute which provided that all debts owed by deceased persons were extinguished upon their death. Justice Field dissented from this decision and argued that the language of the statute did not apply in this case as it only applied to those debts for which no security existed at the time of death; in this case, there was security (the land) so therefore, according to Field's interpretation of the law, recovery should be allowed. He further noted that if such a rule were adopted then creditors would have little incentive to lend money or take any other form of security when dealing with debtors who are elderly or ill as they would know they cannot collect anything after death regardless.