In Horace C. Silsby, Washburn Race, Abel Downs, Henry Henion and Edward Mynderse v. Elisha Foote (1857), the appellants appealed a decision of the Supreme Court of New York that had denied their motion to set aside an execution sale for land they owned in Oswego County. The appellants argued that the court lacked jurisdiction over them because they were non-residents of New York State at the time when proceedings against them began; however, this argument was rejected by both lower courts as well as by the US Supreme Court on appeal. The US Supreme Court held that due process requires notice to be given before any legal action is taken against someone who is not a resident or citizen of a particular state; however, since there was no evidence presented showing that such notice had been provided in this case prior to initiating proceedings against these individuals, it could not be determined whether due process had been followed or violated. As such, the judgment from below was affirmed and upheld by SCOTUS.

In the dissenting opinion of Horace C. Silsby, Washburn Race, Abel Downs, Henry Henion and Edward Myndersse v. Elisha Foote (1857), Justice McLean argued that the majority decision was not supported by legal precedent or common law principles. He maintained that a contract is binding upon both parties and should be enforced according to its terms unless there are compelling reasons for it not to be so enforced. In this case, he believed that no such reason existed as the contract between Silsby et al and Foote had been entered into in good faith with full knowledge of all relevant facts on both sides; thus any attempt to invalidate it would amount to an unjustified interference with private property rights which could have far-reaching implications beyond this particular case. As such, Justice McLean concluded that the lower court's ruling should stand and the appeal dismissed accordingly.