In the case of William J. Minor and Catharine his wife v. Shubal Tillotson, the plaintiffs argued that they had a right to a deed for land in Connecticut which was previously owned by their father-in-law, John Tillotson. The defendants argued that John's will did not provide them with any rights to the property as it was devised solely to Shubal Tillotson who then sold it without giving notice or obtaining consent from either plaintiff. The Supreme Court ultimately sided with the defendants, ruling that since no legal title vested in either plaintiff at common law prior to sale of said land, they could not be entitled to any equitable relief under such circumstances. Furthermore, because there was no evidence presented showing fraud or collusion between defendant and purchaser of said land, court found that plaintiffs were unable to establish their claim against defendant on grounds other than those already discussed above.

In the case of William J. Minor and Catharine his wife v. Shubal Tillotson, Justice McLean wrote a dissenting opinion in which he argued that the court should have found for the plaintiffs on their claim to title by adverse possession. He noted that there was evidence presented at trial showing that they had been in continuous possession of the land since 1809, and thus were entitled to it under Connecticut law as long as they paid taxes on it. Furthermore, he argued that even if this was not enough to establish title through adverse possession, then they still had an equitable right to relief based upon their long-term occupancy of the property and improvements made thereto over many years without any interference from anyone else claiming ownership or rights therein until recently when Tillotson attempted to assert such claims against them. In conclusion, Justice McLean believed that justice would be better served by finding for Minor and his wife than allowing Tillotson's claims due to all these factors taken together with no countervailing considerations being present in favor of him or his predecessors' interests in said land prior thereto.