In Riddle and Company v. Mandeville and Jamesson, the Supreme Court of the United States determined that a contract between two parties was binding even if it had not been signed by both parties. The case involved an agreement between Jameson & Co., who were merchants in Philadelphia, and Riddle & Co., who were merchants in Baltimore. Jameson & Co. agreed to ship goods from Philadelphia to Baltimore for Riddle & Co., but they never actually signed any written document outlining their agreement. Despite this lack of a signature, the court found that there was sufficient evidence to prove that an oral contract existed between the two companies and thus held them both accountable for fulfilling its terms. This decision established precedent which has since been used as justification for upholding verbal contracts without requiring signatures or other forms of written documentation as proof of their existence or validity

In Riddle and Company v. Mandeville and Jamesson, Chief Justice Marshall delivered a dissenting opinion in which he argued that the court should not have granted the motion to dismiss made by defendants on the grounds of laches. He reasoned that although there was some delay between when plaintiff first learned of their cause of action and when they filed suit, this did not necessarily constitute unreasonable delay or prejudice to defendant's rights. Furthermore, he noted that it would be unfair for courts to allow parties who had committed wrongs against others to escape liability simply because those wronged had delayed in bringing suit due to ignorance or other reasons beyond their control. In conclusion, Chief Justice Marshall believed that plaintiffs' claims should have been heard on their merits rather than dismissed based solely on an alleged lack of diligence in filing suit.