John R. Irvine, appellant, brought a case against William R. Marshall and Thomas Barton to the Supreme Court of the United States in 1857. The dispute was over an agreement between Irvine and Marshall that stated if Irvine paid off certain debts for Marshall he would receive two-thirds of all profits from a mining venture they were both involved in as well as one-third of any land acquired through it. However, when the partnership dissolved after acquiring some land with their joint efforts, Marshall refused to pay out what he owed according to their agreement. In response, Irvine sued him for breach of contract but lost at trial court due to insufficient evidence presented by his counsel on his behalf; thus leading him to appeal this decision before the US Supreme Court where it ultimately found in favor of Marshal and dismissed Irvines’s claim without prejudice due to lack thereof again on appeal level too.

In the case of John R. Irvine v William R. Marshall and Thomas Barton, the Supreme Court was asked to decide whether or not a contract between two parties could be enforced when one party had died before it was completed. The majority opinion held that contracts are only binding on those who sign them and cannot be transferred to another person after death, even if they were in the process of being negotiated at the time of death. However, Justice Grier dissented from this decision arguing that there is no reason why a contract should not be enforceable against an estate where both parties have agreed upon its terms prior to one's death. He argued that since all contracts must eventually come into effect in order for either party to receive any benefit from them, then it would make sense for courts to recognize such agreements as valid even if one side has passed away before completion.