In the Matter of the Life and Fire Insurance Company of New York v. Christopher Adams, was a case heard by the United States Supreme Court in 1834. The plaintiff, Life and Fire Insurance Company of New York (LFICNY), sued defendant Christopher Adams for breach of contract after he failed to pay premiums on an insurance policy issued by LFICNY. At issue before the court was whether or not LFICNY had validly accepted payment from Adams’ agent without his knowledge or consent. In its decision, the court held that while it is generally true that agents are authorized to bind their principals in contracts with third parties, this rule does not apply when there is no evidence that either party intended such authority be given to an agent; thus, since there was no proof presented at trial showing any agreement between Adams and his agent regarding payment for insurance premiums due under his policy with LFICNY, judgment must go against him as he did not fulfill his contractual obligations under said policy.

In the Matter of the Life and Fire Insurance Company of New York v. Christopher Adams, Chief Justice Taney delivered a dissenting opinion in which he argued that the Court should not have granted an injunction to prevent Adams from collecting on his policy with The Life and Fire Insurance Company of New York. According to Taney, this was because there were no facts presented by either party that would justify such an action. Furthermore, he noted that if any fraud had been committed against the company it could be addressed through other legal remedies such as damages or criminal prosecution rather than granting an injunction. Finally, Taney argued that even if there had been some evidence of fraud presented by one side or another it still did not necessarily warrant issuing a court order preventing collection on a contract between two parties since contracts are generally considered sacred under law and should only be interfered with when absolutely necessary.