Jacob S. Mayberry brought a case against James H. Thompson to the Supreme Court in 1847, claiming that he had been wrongfully evicted from his property by Thompson and was seeking damages for the loss of use of his land. The court found that although Mayberry had not received proper notice before being removed from his property, he did not have legal title to it and therefore could not be compensated for its use or occupancy. Furthermore, since there was no evidence that any agreement existed between the two parties regarding payment for such an eviction, the court ruled in favor of Thompson and dismissed Mayberry's claim without awarding him any compensation. This decision established precedent which held that tenants who do not possess legal title to their properties cannot seek damages if they are unlawfully evicted without prior notification or agreement with their landlords concerning payment for such an action.

Justice McLean wrote the dissenting opinion in this case. He argued that the plaintiff had a valid claim to an estate, and should not be denied his rights due to technicalities of law. The majority opinion held that because Mayberry was unable to produce a deed for the property he claimed as his own, he could not prove ownership and thus did not have standing in court. However, Justice McLean disagreed with this ruling; he believed that Mayberry's possession of the land for over twenty years constituted sufficient proof of ownership even without a deed or other written evidence. Furthermore, Justice McLean noted that if Mayberry were barred from recovering what was rightfully his due to lack of paperwork then it would set a dangerous precedent which would allow people who wrongfully take another's property to keep it simply by destroying any documents related to its rightful owner.