This Supreme Court case involves Isaac T. Preston, the executor of James Brown's estate, and Richard R. Keene as defendant in error. The dispute between the two parties arose when Preston brought suit against Keene for a debt that was allegedly due to Brown before his death from an agreement made with Keene prior to his passing. In response, Keene argued that he had already paid off the debt by transferring property worth more than what was owed to him at the time of their agreement; however, this transfer occurred after Brown's death and not during his lifetime as originally agreed upon. Ultimately, it fell on the court to decide whether or not this posthumous payment would be considered valid under contract law or if it should be nullified because it did not meet all of its original conditions set forth by both parties involved in making said contract.

In this case, the Supreme Court was asked to decide whether a contract between two parties could be enforced when one of them had died before it was executed. The majority opinion held that the contract could not be enforced because it did not meet all of the requirements for an enforceable agreement under state law. However, Justice McLean dissented from this decision and argued that there were sufficient facts in evidence to support enforcement of the agreement. He noted that both parties had agreed to its terms and intended for it to take effect upon their respective deaths; thus, he concluded that they should have been allowed to carry out their intentions as expressed in the contract. Furthermore, he argued that allowing such contracts would encourage people who are entering into agreements with those who may die during performance or execution of said agreements would provide greater security against fraud or other misconduct by either party involved in such transactions.