In the case of Mary Lewis, Administratrix of Stephen J. Lewis, Deceased v. Edward R. Bell, Assignee of I. Bell Junior, the Supreme Court was asked to decide whether a contract between two parties could be enforced when one party had died before it was completed and no executor or administrator had been appointed for their estate at that time. The court ultimately ruled in favor of Mary Lewis as administratrix on behalf of her deceased husband's estate and held that contracts entered into by an individual prior to death are binding upon their heirs even if they die without having appointed an executor or administrator for their estate first. This decision established important precedent regarding inheritance law in the United States and has since been cited numerous times in similar cases involving contract disputes after a person's death

In the case of Mary Lewis, Administratrix of Stephen J. Lewis, Deceased v. Edward R. Bell, Assignee of I. Bell Junior, the dissenting opinion was that a court should not be able to grant an injunction against a party who has already been found liable in another court for damages due to their actions or negligence and then have them pay those damages before they can proceed with any other action related to the same matter as it would be contrary to public policy and justice itself. The majority opinion argued that such injunctions were necessary in order for courts to protect parties from being taken advantage of by others but Justice McLean disagreed stating that if someone is found guilty then they must face consequences without delay and cannot use an injunction as a way out which could potentially lead them away from paying what is owed when it comes time for judgment day on this particular issue at hand.