This Supreme Court case involved a dispute between two parties over the ownership of land in Kentucky. The lessee, James B. Clarke and others, argued that they had been granted legal title to the property by an act of Congress from 1802. However, John Courtney and others claimed that their ancestors had held title to the land since 1790 under a Spanish grant. The court found for Courtney and his co-defendants on the basis that their claim was based on prior possession rather than any legislative action or other form of conveyance; thus it could not be overturned by subsequent legislation such as what occurred in 1802 when Clarke's party acquired its rights to the property. Furthermore, because Spain had ceded control of this area before Congress passed its law granting rights to Clarke's group, those rights were invalidated due to lack of jurisdiction at time they were issued. As a result, ownership reverted back to those who held it prior - namely Courtney et al - making them rightful owners according to Supreme Court ruling

In this case, the Supreme Court was asked to decide whether a deed of trust created by James B. Clarke and others should be enforced against John Courtney and others. The majority opinion held that it should not be enforced because there were irregularities in its execution which rendered it voidable at law. However, Justice McLean dissented from the majority opinion on two grounds: firstly, he argued that although there may have been some technical defects in the deed's execution, they did not render it invalid; secondly, he maintained that even if these defects had made the deed voidable at law, equity would still enforce it as long as no one had been prejudiced by them. He concluded his dissent with an assertion that "the court ought never to suffer any technicality or formality to defeat justice".