In the case of Robert J. Taylor and Others v. John Thompson Mason, appellants argued that a deed granting them land in Kentucky was valid despite being signed by only one party to the agreement instead of two as required by state law. The respondent contended that because the deed had not been properly executed, it should be declared null and void. The Supreme Court ultimately sided with the respondent, ruling that since there were no signatures from both parties on record for this particular transaction, it could not be enforced under Kentucky law or federal common law principles applicable at the time. This decision established an important precedent regarding contract formation requirements in real estate transactions across America which still stands today: all contracts must include signatures from both parties involved in order to be legally binding and enforceable in court.

In the dissenting opinion of Robert J. Taylor and Others v John Thompson Mason, Justice Johnson argued that the Court should have granted a new trial to the appellants on account of an error in law committed by the court below. He believed that this error was so fundamental as to require reversal, even though it had not been objected to at trial or raised in any other way before appeal. The issue at hand involved whether certain lands were held under a lease from one party (the respondent) to another (the appellants). In his dissent, Justice Johnson argued that since there was no evidence presented at trial regarding who actually owned these lands, it could not be determined with certainty which party held title; thus, he concluded that a new trial should have been granted due to insufficient proof of ownership being provided by either side.