In the United States Supreme Court case of The United States, Plaintiffs in Error v. Walter Jones, Administrator de Bonis Non of Benjamin G. Orr, the court was asked to decide whether a state court had jurisdiction over an action brought by a federal officer against another federal officer for money due on account of services rendered while acting under authority from Congress. The plaintiff argued that since he was appointed as an agent and representative of the government by Congress itself, any dispute between him and other officers should be resolved through proceedings in a Federal Court rather than through State Courts. On appeal to the Supreme Court it held that although there were some cases where suits could be maintained in either Federal or State courts depending upon circumstances such as diversity jurisdiction or admiralty law; this particular suit did not fall into those categories and thus must remain within exclusive cognizance of Federal Courts only.

In the United States v. Walter Jones, Administrator de Bonis Non of Benjamin G. Orr, Justice McLean delivered a dissenting opinion in which he argued that the court should not have granted judgment for the plaintiff on an assumpsit action brought against them by Jones as administrator of Orr's estate. He believed that there was no evidence to support such a claim and that it would be improper for the court to grant relief without proof of damages or injury suffered by either party. Furthermore, he noted that even if there had been sufficient evidence presented at trial to prove liability on behalf of Orr’s estate, it was still unclear whether any actual damage had occurred due to this alleged breach of contract and thus granting judgment in favor of Jones would be inappropriate under these circumstances. As such, Justice McLean concluded his dissent with a call for further proceedings before any final decision could be made regarding this case so as to ensure justice is served accordingly.