In Perkins v. Hart, Executor of Hart, the Supreme Court held that a creditor's right to collect on an unpaid debt was not affected by the debtor's death. The case involved a dispute between two parties over whether or not an executor had to pay off debts owed by his deceased father-in-law. The plaintiff argued that he should be able to recover from the estate of his father-in-law since it was still liable for any outstanding debts at the time of his death. However, the defendant argued that because there were no assets left in the estate after all other creditors had been paid off, then there could be no recovery against it for this particular debt. Ultimately, Chief Justice John Marshall ruled in favor of the plaintiff and held that even though there may have been insufficient funds remaining in an estate after paying other creditors' claims first, this did not affect a creditor’s right to collect on their own claim against said estate as long as they proved their entitlement thereto before its distribution among heirs and legatees occurred.

In the case of Perkins v. Hart, Executor of Hart, Chief Justice John Marshall delivered a dissenting opinion in which he argued that the court should not have granted an injunction to prevent the executor from selling certain property belonging to his deceased ward's estate. He reasoned that since it was undisputed that the sale would be beneficial for all parties involved and there was no evidence of fraud or bad faith on behalf of either party, granting such an injunction would be inappropriate. Furthermore, Marshall noted that if this decision were allowed to stand as precedent then any creditor could obtain injunctions against executors who sought to sell assets in order to pay off debts owed by their wards' estates; thus creating unnecessary delays and costs for those seeking justice through legal means. In conclusion, Marshall believed it was improper for courts to interfere with transactions between two willing parties when there is no evidence of wrongdoing or harm being done by either side.