This US Supreme Court case involved seven plaintiffs in error, James R. Jones, Charles C. Jones, William G. Gorman, Robert Lott, John Tippin, Matthew T. Tippin and John R. Tally who were suing Catherine McMasters by her next friend Manuel Ybarba for a dispute over land ownership rights in California during the Mexican-American War of 1846-1848 period when Mexico ceded the area to the United States under the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo which was ratified on July 4th 1848 . The court ruled that since there had been no grant from either government prior to this date then neither party could claim legal title or possession of any lands within what is now known as California and thus dismissed all claims made by both parties against each other with regards to said property rights

In the dissenting opinion of this case, Justice Catron argued that the plaintiffs had failed to prove their claim. He stated that they did not provide sufficient evidence to show a legal title in themselves or any other person from whom they derived it. Furthermore, he noted that even if there was such proof, it would be insufficient because no act of Congress authorized them to bring suit against Catherine McMasters for her land. In conclusion, Justice Catron concluded that the court should have dismissed the case and allowed Catherine McMasters' possession of her land without interference from anyone else.