Isaac Shelby brought a case against John Bacon, Alexander Symington, Thomas Robins, James Robertson, Richard H. Bayard, James S. Newbold, Herman Cope and Thomas S. Taylor and George Beach for the wrongful possession of certain lands in Kentucky that he claimed were his own property due to an agreement between him and the defendants' predecessors-in-title from 1817. The Supreme Court held that Shelby had failed to prove title or right to possess the land because he did not have any written evidence of ownership or proof of payment for it as required by Kentucky law at the time; thus they ruled in favor of Bacon et al., dismissing Shelby's claim with costs awarded against him.

In the dissenting opinion of this case, Justice Catron argued that the complainant had failed to prove his claim. He noted that although it was true that a deed from Isaac Shelby and others to John Bacon and others had been executed in 1806, there was no evidence presented at trial showing any consideration for said deed or any other proof of its validity. Furthermore, he stated that even if such evidence were present, it would not be sufficient to establish title since the statute of limitations on real estate claims in Tennessee expired after twenty years. Therefore, Justice Catron concluded that the complainant's claim should have been dismissed as time-barred under state law.