Hume v. Beale's Executrix was a case heard by the United States Supreme Court in 1872. The case involved a dispute between the executrix of a deceased man's estate and the man's former business partner. The executrix argued that the deceased man had loaned money to his business partner, and that the partner had failed to repay the loan. The business partner argued that the loan had been repaid, and that the executrix was attempting to collect a debt that had already been settled. The Supreme Court ultimately sided with the business partner, ruling that the loan had been repaid and that the executrix was not entitled to collect the debt. The Court held that the executrix had failed to prove that the loan had not been repaid, and that the business partner had provided sufficient evidence to show that the loan had been settled. The Court also noted that the executrix had failed to provide any evidence that the loan had not been repaid. As a result, the Court ruled in favor of the business partner and denied the executrix's claim.

In Hume v. Beale's Executrix, the Supreme Court was tasked with determining whether a contract between two parties that had been partially performed could be enforced by law. The majority opinion held that the contract was valid and enforceable, but Justice Field dissented from this ruling. He argued that since only part of the agreement had been fulfilled, it should not be considered legally binding as there were still outstanding obligations on both sides which remained unfulfilled. Furthermore, he noted that even if one party had completed their portion of the deal in full before any breach occurred, they would still have no legal recourse to compel performance from the other side due to lack of consideration for mutual promises made in exchange for each other’s performance. As such, Justice Field concluded that partial performance alone is insufficient grounds upon which to base an enforceable contract under existing laws and precedent set forth by prior cases