In The Washington, Alexandria, and Georgetown Steam-Packet Company v. Frederic E. Sickles and Trueman Cook, the Supreme Court was asked to decide whether a contract between two parties could be enforced when one of them had died before it was completed. The plaintiffs in error were the steamboat company who argued that they should not have to pay damages for breach of contract because their customer had died before he could fulfill his part of the agreement. On the other hand, defendants Sickles and Cook argued that since there was an enforceable agreement in place at the time of death, they should receive compensation from the steamboat company for its failure to perform as promised under said agreement. After considering both sides' arguments carefully, Chief Justice Taney ruled in favor of defendants Sickles and Cook on grounds that contracts are binding even after one party has passed away; thus awarding them damages from plaintiff's breach thereof.

In this case, the Washington, Alexandria and Georgetown Steam-Packet Company (the plaintiffs) argued that they were entitled to damages from Frederic E. Sickles and Trueman Cook (the defendants). The plaintiffs claimed that the defendants had wrongfully taken possession of one of their steamboats without proper authority or legal justification. In a dissenting opinion, Justice Grier disagreed with the majority's ruling in favor of the plaintiffs. He argued that there was no evidence presented to demonstrate any actual damage suffered by the company as a result of taking possession of its boat; therefore, he concluded that it would be unjust for them to receive compensation for something which could not be proven. Furthermore, he stated that even if some kind of injury had been caused by taking possession without authorization, it should have been addressed through an action in trespass rather than seeking damages under admiralty law as was done here.