In Marine Insurance Company, of Alexandria v. James Young, the Supreme Court was tasked with determining whether a contract between two parties could be enforced when it had been made without consideration. The plaintiff argued that they had provided insurance to the defendant and were owed money for their services while the defendant maintained that there was no consideration given in exchange for his agreement to pay premiums on an insurance policy. Ultimately, Chief Justice Marshall ruled in favor of the plaintiff stating that although there was no direct consideration given by either party at the time of making their agreement, both parties received something valuable from it; thus rendering it enforceable under law. This decision established precedent which has since been used as justification for enforcing contracts even if one or more parties did not provide anything tangible in return at its inception.

In Marine Insurance Company, of Alexandria v. James Young, the dissenting opinion argued that a contract between two parties should be enforced according to its terms and conditions as agreed upon by both parties. The dissent noted that while there was no dispute over the fact that the plaintiff had not received payment for goods shipped from Europe to America, it was also true that they had failed to provide proof of insurance coverage on those goods in accordance with their agreement with Mr. Young. As such, the dissent concluded that since there was no evidence of breach or fraud on either side's part, then Mr. Young should not be held liable for any damages incurred due to non-payment and instead should only have been responsible for paying what he owed under his original contract with Marine Insurance Company of Alexandria - which did not include any additional costs associated with insuring those goods against loss or damage during transit across the Atlantic Ocean.