Charles McMicken, appellant, brought a case against Franklin Perin in the Supreme Court. The dispute was over an agreement between them that stated if McMicken paid for certain property and improvements to be made on it then he would receive title of the land from Perin. However, when McMicken attempted to take possession of the land after paying for it as agreed upon, Perin refused to give him title or allow him access. As such, McMicken sued for breach of contract and sought damages from Perin's refusal to fulfill his end of their agreement. In its ruling on this case, the Supreme Court held that although there were some discrepancies in how much money had been paid by both parties according to their agreement; nevertheless they found in favor of McMicken because he had substantially complied with all conditions set forth by their contract and thus should have received title per its terms. Therefore they ordered that judgment be entered against Franklin Perin requiring him to convey legal title over said property as well as pay damages due under law for his breach of contract with Charles Mcmickens

In the case of Charles McMicken v. Franklin Perin, the Supreme Court was asked to decide whether a deed executed by an individual in his lifetime could be enforced against his estate after he had passed away. The majority opinion held that it could not, as such a transaction would be considered void under state law. However, Justice Curtis dissented from this ruling and argued that there was no legal basis for denying enforcement of the deed in question. He reasoned that since both parties had agreed to its terms while alive and well, they should still be bound by them even after one party's death; otherwise contracts between living persons would become meaningless if they were rendered invalid upon any subsequent event or change in circumstance. Furthermore, Justice Curtis noted that allowing estates to repudiate valid agreements made during life would lead to great uncertainty and injustice among those who rely on such transactions being honored according to their original intent.