This Supreme Court case involved a dispute between Robert G. Scott, Susannah his wife and James C. Madison (plaintiffs in error) and Silas Ratcliffe, Thomas Owings, John Owings and others (defendants in error). The plaintiffs claimed that they had been wrongfully evicted from their leased property by the defendants who were claiming ownership of it. The court found that the lease was valid but also held that since the original owner had died without leaving a will or any other legal document to transfer title of the land to anyone else, there was no way for them to prove ownership over it. Therefore, they could not evict the plaintiffs as they did not have any legal right over it either. In conclusion, this decision established an important precedent regarding how disputes involving real estate should be handled when there is no clear evidence of ownership rights available at hand.

In this case, the Supreme Court was asked to decide whether a deed of trust executed by Robert G. Scott and Susannah his wife in favor of Silas Ratcliffe, Thomas Owings and John Owings was valid. The majority opinion held that it was not valid because it did not comply with Virginia law which required such deeds to be signed by both parties or their agents. However, Justice Story dissented from the majority opinion on the grounds that there were sufficient facts presented in evidence to support a finding that the deed had been properly executed according to Virginia law. He argued that even if there were some technical defects in its execution, they should have been disregarded as immaterial since all parties involved appeared before witnesses who attested to its validity at the time of signing. Furthermore, he noted that no one had raised any objections until after more than twenty years had passed since its execution and thus concluded that it should be considered binding upon all parties involved regardless of any technicalities or irregularities present therein.