Ford v. Surget was a United States Supreme Court case that dealt with the issue of whether a state court had the authority to issue an injunction against a federal court. The case arose when the plaintiff, Ford, sought to enjoin the defendant, Surget, from proceeding with a suit in a federal court. Ford argued that the state court had the authority to issue the injunction because the suit was based on a state law. The Supreme Court disagreed, holding that the state court did not have the authority to issue the injunction. The Court reasoned that the state court lacked jurisdiction over the federal court, and that the federal court had exclusive jurisdiction over the suit. The Court further held that the state court could not interfere with the proceedings of the federal court, and that the injunction was therefore invalid. The Court's decision established that state courts do not have the authority to issue injunctions against federal courts.

Justice Field delivered the dissenting opinion in Ford v. Surget, arguing that the majority's decision was incorrect and should be overturned. He argued that it was not necessary to consider whether or not a contract had been made between the parties because even if one had been formed, there would still have been no breach of it by either party. The defendant had paid for all goods received from plaintiff and therefore could not be held liable for any damages resulting from non-payment or failure to perform on his part. Furthermore, Justice Field argued that even if a contract did exist between them, it would only bind both parties to its terms as long as they were mutually agreed upon; since this agreement was never reached in this case, neither party could be held responsible for any alleged breach of contract. Finally, he concluded by stating that while courts may sometimes imply contracts when none are expressly stated between two parties (as is often done with maritime contracts), such an implication cannot be made here due to lack of evidence showing mutual assent or consideration given by either side towards forming a binding agreement