The Maryland Insurance Company v. Woods was a case heard by the United States Supreme Court in 1810. The dispute centered around an insurance policy issued by the company to cover goods shipped from Baltimore, Maryland to Alexandria, Virginia on board of a vessel called the Sally Ann. The voyage was interrupted due to bad weather and some of the cargo was damaged or lost at sea during this time period. Woods argued that he should be compensated for his losses under terms of his policy with the company while they maintained that their agreement did not cover such damages as it only applied when goods were “captured” or taken away by enemies of America which had not occurred in this instance. After hearing both sides arguments, Chief Justice John Marshall ruled in favor of Woods stating that since there is no clear language within their contract indicating otherwise then any damage sustained during transit must be covered under its terms regardless if it came about through enemy action or natural causes like storms and high winds encountered at sea.

In the case of The Maryland Insurance Company v. Woods, Chief Justice Marshall delivered a dissenting opinion in which he argued that the Court should not have granted an injunction against Woods for failing to pay his debt to the insurance company. He reasoned that since there was no proof of fraud or bad faith on behalf of Woods, it would be unjust to grant an injunction and deprive him of his property without due process. Furthermore, Marshall noted that granting such injunctions could lead creditors to abuse their power by using them as leverage over debtors who are unable or unwilling to pay their debts. As such, he concluded that equity did not require this particular relief and thus dissented from the majority's decision.