In the case of Jacob Strader and Others v. Christopher Graham, the Supreme Court was asked to decide whether a state court had jurisdiction over a dispute between citizens of different states. The plaintiffs argued that they were entitled to damages for breach of contract from defendant Christopher Graham, who resided in Ohio while they lived in Kentucky. The Supreme Court held that under Article III, Section 2 of the United States Constitution, federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction over cases involving citizens from different states unless Congress has granted authority to state courts by statute or otherwise provided for concurrent jurisdiction with federal courts. In this case, no such grant had been made and thus only federal courts could hear it; as a result, the decision by the Kentucky court was overturned and remanded back to them for further proceedings consistent with this ruling.

Justice McLean delivered the dissenting opinion in this case, arguing that the majority decision was an incorrect interpretation of the law. He argued that under Kentucky state law, a contract to purchase land could not be enforced unless it had been reduced to writing and signed by both parties. In this case, there was no written agreement between Jacob Strader and Christopher Graham for the sale of land; instead, Strader claimed he had made an oral agreement with Graham. Justice McLean noted that even if such an oral agreement existed between them, it would still be unenforceable since Kentucky's Statute of Frauds required all contracts involving real estate to be in writing and signed by both parties. Therefore, he concluded that Strader did not have any legal right or title to the property at issue in this case and thus should not prevail on his claim against Graham.