In Marcardier v. The Chesapeake Insurance Company, the Supreme Court of the United States held that a contract between two parties is binding even if it was not in writing and signed by both parties. In this case, Marcardier had verbally agreed to insure a ship owned by The Chesapeake Insurance Company for $2,000 against any losses caused by pirates or enemies of the United States during its voyage from France to America. When the ship encountered an enemy vessel and suffered damage, The Chesapeake Insurance Company refused to pay out on their agreement with Marcardier because there was no written contract between them. However, Chief Justice John Marshall ruled that verbal contracts are still legally enforceable under certain circumstances and ordered The Chesapeake Insurance Company to pay out on their agreement with Marcardier as promised. This ruling established an important precedent in American law which has been followed ever since: verbal agreements can be just as valid as written ones when they meet certain criteria such as being made in good faith and without fraud or misrepresentation from either party involved.

In Marcardier v. The Chesapeake Insurance Company, Chief Justice Marshall delivered the dissenting opinion of the court. He argued that a contract between two parties should be interpreted in accordance with its plain meaning and not based on any extraneous evidence or considerations outside of what was agreed upon by both parties. In this case, he believed that the insurance company had no right to deny coverage for losses incurred due to an act of war as it was not specified in their agreement nor did they have knowledge at the time when entering into said agreement that such an event could occur. Furthermore, he stated that if either party wanted to include such a clause then they should have done so explicitly and clearly within their contract instead of relying on general language which could be subject to interpretation or misinterpretation depending on one's point-of-view.