Hoyt's Administrator v. Hanbury is a Supreme Court case from 1820. The case involved a dispute between the administrator of the estate of William Hoyt and the executor of the estate of Thomas Hanbury. The dispute centered around a debt that Hanbury owed to Hoyt. The administrator of Hoyt's estate argued that the debt should be paid out of the assets of Hanbury's estate. The executor of Hanbury's estate argued that the debt should not be paid out of the assets of the estate, as it had already been paid. The Supreme Court ultimately sided with the administrator of Hoyt's estate. The Court held that the executor of Hanbury's estate was liable for the debt, and that the debt should be paid out of the assets of the estate. The Court reasoned that the executor had a duty to pay the debt, and that the executor had failed to fulfill that duty. The Court also held that the executor had acted in bad faith by attempting to avoid paying the debt. As a result, the executor was held liable for the debt, and the assets of the estate were used to pay it.

In the case of Hoyt's Administrator v. Hanbury, Justice Field delivered a dissenting opinion in which he argued that the majority had failed to consider the facts of the case and instead relied on an overly broad interpretation of existing law. He noted that while it was true that under English common law, a creditor could not be held liable for damages caused by his debtor’s negligence, this did not apply in cases where there was evidence showing that the creditor had knowledge or notice of such negligence prior to its occurrence. In this particular instance, Justice Field believed there were sufficient facts presented to suggest that Hanbury knew about Hoyt’s negligent behavior before it occurred and should therefore be held responsible for any resulting damages. As such, he concluded by arguing against granting summary judgment in favor of Hanbury as requested by the majority opinion and instead recommended further proceedings into determining whether or not liability should attach based on all available evidence.