Houghton v. Jones was a case heard before the United States Supreme Court in 1863. The dispute arose when William Houghton, an administrator of the estate of John B. Smith, sued James Jones for payment on a promissory note that had been signed by Smith prior to his death. Houghton argued that he should be allowed to collect on the debt as it was part of Smith's estate and thus passed down to him upon his death; however, Jones argued that since he did not sign or agree to any such contract with Houghton himself, he should not be held liable for repayment. Ultimately, the court sided with Houghton and ruled in favor of allowing administrators like him to collect debts owed by deceased persons from those who were originally party to said contracts even if they themselves had no direct agreement with them at all.

In Houghton v. Jones, the Supreme Court was asked to decide whether a contract between two parties that had been partially performed could be enforced by one of them against the other. The majority opinion held that it could not, as there was no consideration for either party to enforce such an agreement. However, in his dissenting opinion Justice Grier argued that when part performance has occurred on both sides of a contract, it should be considered valid and binding upon both parties even if there is no consideration present. He reasoned that since each side had already provided some benefit or detriment under the terms of their agreement they were obligated to fulfill their respective duties regardless of any lack of consideration from either side. Furthermore he noted that enforcing contracts without regard for considerations would help ensure fairness and justice in commercial transactions while also providing greater certainty with regards to contractual obligations which would ultimately lead to more efficient business dealings overall.