In the case of William J. Minor and Catherine his wife, Plaintiffs in Error, v. Shubal Tillotson, the Supreme Court was asked to decide whether a deed from an infant heir should be held valid when it had been signed without court approval or guardianship supervision. The plaintiffs argued that they were entitled to possession of certain lands based on a deed executed by an infant heir who had since died; however, this deed was not approved by any court or guardian at the time it was made and thus could not be enforced as law. The defendant countered that such deeds are invalid under common law principles because infants lack legal capacity to enter into contracts due to their minority status. After considering both sides’ arguments, the Supreme Court ultimately decided in favor of the defendant: no contract entered into with an infant is binding unless approved by a court or guardian beforehand.

In the case of William J. Minor and Catherine his wife v. Shubal Tillotson, Justice McLean wrote a dissenting opinion in which he argued that the court should have granted relief to the plaintiffs on their claim for damages due to trespass committed by Tillotson. He believed that it was clear from evidence presented at trial that Tillotson had wrongfully entered onto land owned by Minors without permission or authority, and thus they were entitled to compensation for any damage caused as a result of this trespass. Furthermore, McLean noted that even if there was some uncertainty about whether or not an actual injury occurred, the jury should still be allowed to decide based on all available facts since it is impossible for courts to determine with certainty what actually happened in such cases. Ultimately, he concluded that justice would best be served if Minors were given an opportunity to recover damages from Tillotson's wrongful actions rather than having them suffer losses without recourse against him.