In the case of William Houston and others, and Francis Fisk and others v. The City Bank of New Orleans, the plaintiffs in error argued that a certain act passed by Louisiana legislature was unconstitutional as it violated their rights under the Constitution. Specifically, they claimed that this act allowed for an extension on debts owed to The City Bank of New Orleans without providing any compensation or consideration to those who were already creditors at the time. In response, The City Bank argued that because these extensions only applied to future debtors rather than existing ones there was no violation of constitutional rights taking place. Ultimately however, after considering both sides’ arguments carefully, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Houston et al., finding that such an extension did indeed violate their right to due process under Article IV Section 2 Clause 1 (the Contract Clause) as well as other provisions within state law.

The dissenting opinion in the case of William Houston and others, and Francis Fisk and others v. The City Bank of New Orleans was that the bank should not be held liable for any losses incurred by its customers due to a fraudulent scheme perpetrated by one of its employees. The dissent argued that although it is true that banks have an obligation to exercise reasonable care when dealing with their customers’ funds, this does not mean they are responsible for all losses caused by fraud or negligence on the part of their employees. Furthermore, since there was no evidence presented at trial indicating that the bank had knowledge or reason to believe that such a scheme existed prior to its discovery after the fact, it could not be held liable for any damages resulting from said scheme. Therefore, according to this view, even if certain individuals were able to prove they suffered financial harm as a result of this incident – which itself may have been preventable – those individuals would still need look elsewhere than towards The City Bank of New Orleans in order seek compensation for their losses.