In the case of Lessee of Effie Coons, and Others, Plaintiffs in Error vs. Charles P. Gallaher, Defendant in Error, a dispute arose over whether or not certain lands were subject to taxation by the state government. The plaintiffs argued that they had purchased these lands from the United States government with an understanding that they would be exempt from all taxes imposed by any state authority for twenty-one years after purchase. The defendant contended that this agreement was invalid because it violated both federal and state laws prohibiting such exemptions from taxation on public land sales. After considering arguments on both sides, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the defendant; finding that while Congress may have intended to grant tax exemption privileges when selling public land to individuals or companies, those privileges could not supersede existing laws which prohibited such exemptions at either a federal or state level.

In this case, the Supreme Court was asked to decide whether a contract between two parties could be enforced when one of them had died before it was fully executed. The majority opinion held that the contract should not be enforced because it had not been completed by both parties. However, in his dissenting opinion Justice McLean argued that contracts are binding even if one party dies before they are fully performed and that there is no legal basis for denying enforcement of such agreements. He reasoned that since the deceased party's estate would benefit from performance of the agreement, their heirs should also have an interest in seeing it fulfilled. Furthermore, he noted that allowing such contracts to stand would provide greater certainty and stability for commercial transactions as well as encourage people to enter into legally binding agreements with confidence knowing they will still be enforceable even after death or incapacity has occurred.