John Perkins, appellant, brought a case against Edward P. Fourniquet and his wife Harriet in an effort to recover possession of land that he claimed was wrongfully taken from him by the defendants. The dispute centered around two tracts of land located in Louisiana which had been granted to John's father before his death. After John inherited the property, it was sold at public auction for nonpayment of taxes due on it; however, John argued that he had not received proper notice prior to the sale and thus should have been able to redeem the property after paying off any outstanding taxes or fees owed on it. The Supreme Court ultimately ruled in favor of Perkins, finding that although there were some discrepancies with respect to how much money was actually owed on the property when it went up for auction as well as whether or not proper notification had been given prior to its sale - both issues being key factors in determining who rightfully owned title over said lands - these matters could be more properly addressed during further proceedings within state court rather than through federal courts.

In the case of John Perkins v. Edward P. Fourniquet and Harriet, his wife, the Supreme Court was asked to decide whether a deed from an individual who had no title or interest in land could be enforced against another party. The majority opinion held that such a deed was unenforceable because it did not convey any legal rights to the grantee; however, Justice McLean dissented on this point and argued that if there were sufficient consideration for the deed then it should be enforceable regardless of whether or not its maker had any title or interest in the property being conveyed. He reasoned that since both parties agreed to enter into a contract with each other they should both have their expectations fulfilled by upholding said agreement even though one party may lack legal title over what is being transferred. Furthermore, he noted that allowing such deeds would help protect innocent purchasers who are unaware of any potential defects in titles when buying real estate from third-parties as well as encourage people to invest more freely without fear of losing money due to technicalities related to ownership status.