Hale v. Frost was a United States Supreme Court case that addressed the issue of whether a party could be held liable for a breach of contract when the contract was not in writing. The case involved a dispute between two parties, Hale and Frost, over a contract for the sale of a horse. Hale had agreed to purchase the horse from Frost for $100, but Frost refused to deliver the horse after Hale had paid him the money. The Supreme Court held that a contract does not need to be in writing in order to be enforceable. The Court reasoned that a contract can be formed through an oral agreement, and that the parties can be held liable for a breach of contract even if the contract is not in writing. The Court also held that the parties must have intended to enter into a contract in order for it to be enforceable. The Court's decision in Hale v. Frost established that a contract does not need to be in writing in order to be enforceable. This decision has been cited in numerous subsequent cases and has become an important precedent in contract law.

Justice Field delivered the dissenting opinion in Hale v. Frost, arguing that a contract between two parties should be enforced as written and not subject to judicial interpretation or modification. He argued that the majority's decision was based on their own personal views of what they thought would be fair rather than an objective reading of the contract itself. The dissent noted that while it may have been reasonable for both parties to agree to certain modifications after entering into a contract, such changes could only be made by mutual agreement and not through judicial fiat. Furthermore, Justice Field argued that if courts were allowed to modify contracts at will then no party would feel secure in relying upon any contractual agreement since its terms could always change depending on which court heard the case. In conclusion, he stated his belief that allowing courts to rewrite contracts according to their own subjective notions of fairness undermined public confidence in our legal system and violated fundamental principles of justice enshrined within our Constitution.