This Supreme Court case involved a dispute between James Greenleaf's Lessee and James Birth. The plaintiff, Greenleaf's Lessee, claimed that he had the right to possess certain lands in Maryland due to an agreement with Birth. However, Birth argued that this agreement was invalid because it violated the law of Maryland which prohibited such agreements from being made without permission from the state legislature. The court ultimately sided with Birth and ruled against Greenleaf's Lessee on the grounds that their contract was indeed illegal under Maryland law as it did not have legislative approval. This ruling established precedent for future cases involving contracts made without proper authorization by a state government or its representatives.

In James Greenleaf's Lessee v. James Birth, the Supreme Court was asked to decide whether a deed of trust created by an individual in Virginia could be enforced by that same individual after they had moved to Pennsylvania. The majority opinion held that the deed could not be enforced because it violated public policy and would create confusion between two different states' laws. However, Justice Story dissented from this decision on the grounds that there was no evidence of any conflict between state laws or any violation of public policy in enforcing such a deed. He argued that if parties are allowed to move freely across state lines without fear of losing their rights under contracts made in one jurisdiction, then interstate commerce will flourish and benefit all citizens involved. Furthermore, he noted that allowing individuals who have left one state for another to still enforce contracts made while living in the former is consistent with established legal principles regarding contract law and should therefore be upheld as valid even when those individuals cross into other jurisdictions.