John Gordon, plaintiff in error, brought a case against James Longest, defendant in error. The dispute arose from an agreement between the two men where Gordon agreed to pay Longest for certain services rendered. When payment was not made as promised by Gordon, Longest sued him and won a judgment of $1,000 plus interest and costs. On appeal to the Supreme Court of Georgia however, it was determined that there had been no consideration given by either party at the time of entering into their agreement; thus rendering it voidable under state law. The court reversed the lower court’s decision and dismissed with prejudice all claims against John Gordon on this matter.

In the case of John Gordon v. James Longest, Justice McLean delivered a dissenting opinion in which he argued that the court should not have dismissed Gordon's claim for damages against Longest. According to McLean, there was sufficient evidence presented at trial to support Gordon's contention that his property had been damaged by Longest and thus he was entitled to compensation. Moreover, McLean noted that even if it could be established that some of the damage done to Gordon’s property may have been caused by natural causes or other third parties, this did not absolve Longest from liability since it is well-established law in such cases that each party responsible for causing damage must bear their own share of responsibility regardless of who else may also be held liable. In conclusion, Justice Mclean believed there were grounds upon which a jury could find in favor of Gordon and thus remanded the case back down for further proceedings on this issue.