The People's Ferry Company of Boston (appellants) brought a case against Joseph Beers and David Warner (assignees of B. C. Terry). The appellants claimed that they were the rightful owners of the steamboat Jefferson, which had been sold to B. C. Terry by its former owner, John Wyer Jr., in 1851 for $2,000 plus interest due on it from 1845-1850 amounting to $1,819.25; however, when Mr. Terry died in 1853 his estate was insolvent and could not pay off this debt so he assigned it over to Messrs Beers and Warner who then attempted to collect payment from the appellants as they believed themselves now entitled to ownership of the boat since no payments had been made on it since 1850 when Mr. Wyer transferred title over to Mr. Terry five years earlier . The Supreme Court ultimately ruled in favor of the assignees finding that although there may have been some irregularities with respect to how title was transferred between parties at different points throughout this transaction , these did not invalidate their claim nor entitle them any less than full satisfaction for what was owed them under law .

In the dissenting opinion of this case, Justice Curtis argued that the lower court's decision should be reversed. He believed that a contract between The People's Ferry Company of Boston and B.C. Terry was valid even though it had not been signed by both parties due to its long-term use in practice as well as evidence from witnesses who testified about their knowledge of the agreement. Furthermore, he asserted that there were no grounds for denying payment on behalf of Joseph Beers and David Warner since they had acted in good faith when purchasing assets from Terry which included his rights under said contract with The People’s Ferry Company. Lastly, Justice Curtis concluded that any damages incurred by either party should have been determined through arbitration rather than a jury trial because such an arrangement would have been more equitable given all circumstances involved in this dispute over contractual obligations.