The Brig Short Staple and Cargo, Hallaway and Claimants v. The United States was a case heard by the Supreme Court in 1815. At issue was whether or not the government had to pay damages for goods seized from a British vessel during the War of 1812. The court held that since Congress had passed an act allowing compensation for such seizures, then it must be paid out regardless of any other laws or treaties which may have been violated in order to seize them. This ruling established precedent that when Congress passes legislation granting certain rights, those rights cannot be taken away without due process even if they conflict with existing laws or treaties.

In The Brig Short Staple and Cargo, (Hallaway and Claimants) v. The United States, the dissenting opinion argued that the claimants should be allowed to recover damages for their losses due to a breach of contract by the government. In this case, Hallaway had contracted with the US Navy to transport goods from one port in France to another. However, during transit his ship was captured by an enemy vessel which resulted in significant financial loss for Hallaway as he was unable to deliver on his contractual obligations. Despite acknowledging that there were certain exceptions under which claims against the government could be made validly, Justice Story argued that this particular situation fell within those exceptions since it involved a breach of contract between two parties where one party happened to be a branch of government acting outside its authority or jurisdiction at the time when such contracts are usually not enforceable against them. He further stated that if these circumstances did not qualify as an exception then no other would ever do so either; thus denying justice and compensation for innocent victims who have suffered losses due solely through no fault of their own but rather because they trusted in good faith what turned out later on being false promises made by representatives of public authorities