In Thomas Kirkman, Junior v. John W. Hamilton and Others, the Supreme Court of the United States heard a case concerning an 1820 contract between plaintiff Thomas Kirkman and defendants John W. Hamilton and others for the sale of land in Alabama Territory. The dispute arose when defendant Hamilton failed to pay his portion of the purchase price as agreed upon in their contract; instead he argued that he had been misled by false representations made by plaintiff regarding title to certain tracts within said property which were not included in their agreement but were part of it nonetheless. The court held that although there was no express warranty given by plaintiff with respect to these particular tracts, they nevertheless constituted implied warranties under common law principles due to misrepresentations made about them during negotiations leading up to execution of the contract; thus defendant was entitled only partial relief from payment obligations based on this breach of warranty claim against him.

In Thomas Kirkman, Junior v. John W. Hamilton and Others, the Supreme Court was asked to decide whether a contract between two parties could be enforced when it had been made without consideration. The majority of the court held that contracts must have some form of consideration in order for them to be enforceable; however, Justice Story dissented from this opinion on the basis that there were exceptions to this rule which should apply in this case. He argued that if one party had already performed their part of an agreement before any dispute arose then they should not be deprived of what was rightfully theirs due to lack of consideration. Furthermore, he stated that enforcing such agreements would encourage people to fulfill their promises even when no legal obligation existed and thus promote justice and good faith among citizens.