David Ogden, appellant, brought a case against Jotham Parsons, John A. McGraw, Joshua Atkins and Edwin Atkins for the recovery of certain lands in New York State. The dispute arose from an agreement between Ogden and Parsons that was made in 1845 which granted to Ogden the right to purchase land at a reduced price if he could obtain title within two years. However, when Ogden attempted to exercise his rights under this agreement by purchasing the land from its current owners - McGraw and the Atkins brothers - they refused on grounds that their deed had been obtained prior to any contract between Ogden and Parsons. The Supreme Court ultimately found in favor of McGraw and the Atkins brothers as it determined that their deed was validly executed before any contract with Ogden existed; thus denying him his claim for damages or possession of said lands.

In the case of David Ogden v. Jotham Parsons, John A. McGraw, Joshua Atkins, Edwin Atkins and Joshua Atkins Jr., the Supreme Court was tasked with determining whether a deed from 1836 transferring land to Ogden had been validly executed. The majority opinion held that it had not been properly executed due to lack of consideration paid by Ogden for the transfer and thus ruled in favor of Parsons et al. However, Justice Grier dissented on this ruling arguing that there was sufficient evidence presented at trial indicating consideration had indeed been given by Ogden for the transfer and therefore should be upheld as valid under law. He further argued that even if no actual money or property were exchanged between parties involved in a transaction such as this one, an exchange of promises could still constitute legal consideration so long as both sides agreed upon them before execution took place which he believed occurred here based on testimony provided during trial proceedings.