Sherburne Sears, plaintiff in error, brought a case against Joseph R. Eastburn to the United States Supreme Court. The dispute was over an agreement between them that Sears would pay Eastburn $3,000 for certain lands and improvements located in Ohio. At issue was whether or not the contract had been fully performed by both parties; specifically if it had been sufficiently executed on behalf of Sears as he claimed it had been done so according to law at the time of its formation. After reviewing all evidence presented before them, including testimony from witnesses and documents submitted by both sides, the court found that there were no grounds for any further action on behalf of either party since they agreed upon all terms necessary for a valid contract under Ohio state law at the time when this agreement was made. Therefore they dismissed with prejudice any claims made against each other regarding this matter and ruled in favor of neither party's argument concerning performance or breach thereof.

In the case of Sherburne Sears v. Joseph R. Eastburn, Justice McLean delivered a dissenting opinion in which he argued that the plaintiff had not been able to prove his claim for damages and thus should not be awarded any compensation from the defendant. He noted that although it was true that there had been an agreement between them, this agreement did not include any specific terms regarding payment or other details related to their arrangement. Furthermore, even if such an agreement existed, it would have only been enforceable if both parties agreed upon its terms and conditions; however, no evidence was presented by either party showing they had done so in this case. As such, Justice McLean concluded that since there were no clear contractual obligations between the two parties at issue here and because neither party could provide sufficient proof of their claims against each other, then judgment should be entered in favor of neither side with respect to damages sought by either one of them.