In M'Knight v. Craig's Administrator, the Supreme Court of the United States heard a case involving an estate dispute between two parties. The plaintiff, M'Knight, was seeking to recover money from the defendant’s administrator that had been paid out by his predecessor in error. The court found that while there were some irregularities in how payments were made and received by both parties, it ultimately concluded that no fraud or mistake had occurred and thus denied recovery for M'Knight on this basis. Furthermore, they held that even if fraud or mistake could be proven then it would still not entitle him to any relief as he did not have legal title to the property at issue nor was he able to prove any other right thereto which would give him standing under law. Ultimately this decision affirmed existing precedent regarding estates disputes and set forth clear guidelines for future cases involving similar issues of fact and law.

In M'Knight v. Craig's Administrator, the Supreme Court was asked to decide whether a contract between two parties could be enforced after one of them had died. The majority opinion held that contracts are not binding upon the death of either party and thus this particular contract could not be enforced against the estate of the deceased party. Justice Story dissented from this decision, arguing that it would lead to great injustice in many cases where an individual has made contractual promises with another person who then dies before those promises can be fulfilled. He argued that such contracts should still remain enforceable even if one of the parties is no longer alive as long as there is sufficient evidence for a court to determine what each party intended when they entered into their agreement.