Thomas Otis Le Roy and David Smith brought a case against Benjamin Tatham, Junior, George N. Tatham, and Henry B. Tatham to the Supreme Court of the United States in 1852. The plaintiffs argued that they had been wrongfully deprived of their rights as tenants on land owned by the defendants due to an alleged breach of contract between them and the defendants’ father (who was deceased at this time). They also claimed that they were entitled to damages for being unlawfully evicted from said property without proper notice or legal process. The Supreme Court ultimately ruled in favor of the defendants because it found no evidence that there had ever been any contractual agreement between them and Thomas Otis Le Roy or David Smith regarding tenancy rights on their land; thus, there was no basis for awarding damages or restoring possession of said property back to either party involved in this dispute.

In Thomas Otis Le Roy and David Smith v. Benjamin Tatham, Junior, George N. Tatham, and Henry B. Tatham the Supreme Court was tasked with determining whether a contract between two parties could be enforced when it had been made without consideration or any other legal basis for its enforcement. The majority opinion held that the contract in question was unenforceable because there was no consideration to support it; however Justice Grier dissented from this decision arguing that although the contract lacked consideration, it should still be enforceable due to its moral obligation as well as public policy considerations which would benefit both parties if upheld by the court. He argued that since both parties were of equal bargaining power at the time of making their agreement they should not suffer detriment simply because one party failed to provide adequate consideration for their promise - instead he suggested that courts should look beyond technicalities such as lack of formalized contracts in order to uphold agreements based on fairness and justice rather than strict adherence to rules governing contractual obligations