This Supreme Court case involved a dispute between J. Harper, the plaintiff in error, and Anthony Butler, the defendant in error. The issue at hand was whether or not Harper had to pay damages for an alleged breach of contract with Butler. In this particular case, it was determined that there had been no breach of contract on behalf of either party; therefore neither party was liable for any damages incurred as a result of their agreement. This decision by the court set an important precedent regarding contracts and contractual obligations: if one party does not fulfill their part of the agreement then they may be held accountable for any losses suffered by another due to that failure; however if both parties have fulfilled all terms agreed upon then neither is liable for any resulting damage or loss caused by said agreement.

In J. Harper, Plaintiff in Error vs. Anthony Butler, Defendant in Error, the Supreme Court was asked to decide whether a contract between two parties could be enforced if it had been made without consideration and with no intention of performance by either party. The majority opinion held that such contracts were not enforceable under law because they lacked mutuality of obligation and consideration. However, Justice Story dissented from this ruling on the grounds that there should be an exception for cases where one party has acted upon their agreement in good faith and detrimentally relied on its terms being fulfilled by the other party. He argued that when both parties have performed some part of their obligations or one has done so while relying on the other's promise to do likewise then equity demands recognition of those acts as valid considerations for enforcing a contract even though it may lack formal legal requirements like consideration or mutuality of obligation at its inception.