In Thomas Deye Owings, and Others v. Andrew Kincannon, the Supreme Court of the United States was asked to determine whether a deed executed by an individual in his lifetime could be enforced against him after his death. The appellants argued that they were entitled to certain lands under a deed made by their ancestor before he died. The appellee contended that the deed was void because it had not been recorded within one year as required by state law at the time of its execution. After reviewing both sides' arguments, the court held that although recording statutes are generally mandatory for deeds to be valid and enforceable against subsequent purchasers or creditors, this particular statute did not apply when there is no dispute between parties over title or possession of land during an individual's lifetime. Thus, since there was no dispute between parties concerning title or possession while alive, the court found in favor of appellants and allowed them to recover on their claim based on their ancestor's unrecorded deed from beyond his deathbed.

In Thomas Deye Owings, and Others v. Andrew Kincannon, the Supreme Court was asked to determine whether a deed of trust executed by an infant heir could be enforced against him after he reached majority age. The court held that it could not because infants are incapable of entering into contracts or other legal obligations without the consent of their guardians. Justice McLean wrote a dissenting opinion in which he argued that since the deed had been accepted by all parties involved at its execution, it should be binding on all parties regardless of any subsequent changes in status such as reaching majority age. He further argued that if this were not so then infants would have no protection from those who might take advantage of them and use their lack of capacity to enter into contracts for personal gain.