This Supreme Court case involved a dispute between the appellant, Stephens, and the respondents, M'Cargo and others. The issue at hand was whether or not an agreement made by Stephens to pay for goods purchased from M'Cargo was binding. In order to determine this question of law, the court had to consider if there were any special circumstances that would make it impossible for Stephens to fulfill his promise. After considering all evidence presented in court, including testimony from witnesses on both sides of the argument as well as written documents related to their contract with each other, it became clear that no such special circumstance existed which would excuse Stevens from fulfilling his obligation under their agreement. As a result of this decision by the Supreme Court justices, Stevens was held liable for payment according to what he agreed upon with M'Cargo and others when they entered into their contract together.

In Stephens v. M'Cargo and Others, the Supreme Court was asked to decide whether a contract between two parties could be enforced when one of the parties had died before it was completed. The majority opinion held that contracts are not enforceable after death; however, Justice Johnson dissented from this ruling. He argued that there is no legal principle which states that contracts cannot be enforced after death and noted that such an interpretation would lead to absurd results in cases where both parties have already performed their obligations under the agreement prior to one party's passing away. Furthermore, he stated that if a contract is validly formed by two living persons then it should remain binding even if one of them dies before its completion as long as all other conditions for enforcement are met.