Elijah Peale, Trustee of the Agricultural Bank of Mississippi, brought a case against Martha Phipps and Mary Bowers (wife of Charles Rice) to the Supreme Court. The dispute was over a mortgage that had been given by Phipps and her husband in 1844 for $1,000 with interest at 8%. In 1845 they gave an additional note for $500 with interest at 10%, secured by the same mortgage. After their death in 1850, Elijah Peale sought to collect on both notes from their heirs. The Supreme Court ruled that since there were two separate notes issued under different terms - one being more favorable than the other - only one could be enforced as it would be considered unjust enrichment if both were collected upon. Therefore, only the first note should be paid out according to its original terms without any addition or deduction due to changes in value or currency inflation over time.

In the case of Elijah Peale, Trustee of the Agricultural Bank of Mississippi v. Martha Phipps and Mary Bowers, wife of Charles Rice, Chief Justice Taney delivered a dissenting opinion in which he argued that under Mississippi law at the time, married women were not allowed to own property independently from their husbands. He further argued that since Martha Phipps had been married when she entered into her contract with Elijah Peale for repayment on a loan taken out by her husband prior to his death, she was not legally bound by it as per Mississippi law. Therefore he concluded that any judgment against her should be reversed and remanded back to the lower court for reconsideration.