Washington County v. Durant was a United States Supreme Court case in which the court held that an individual's right to contract is not absolute and can be limited by state law. The plaintiff, Washington County, sought to recover damages from defendant William Durant for breach of contract after he failed to pay his debt on time. The county argued that it had a valid legal claim against him since he had signed a promissory note agreeing to pay the debt within two years or face penalties for nonpayment. However, Durant argued that the statute of limitations set forth in state law barred any action against him because more than two years had passed since he signed the agreement with Washington County. In its ruling, the Supreme Court found in favor of Washington County and held that although individuals have certain rights under contract law, those rights are subject to reasonable regulation by states as long as such regulations do not interfere with federal laws or constitutional protections.

In Washington County v. Durant, the Supreme Court was asked to decide whether a county could be held liable for damages caused by an employee of the county who had been negligent in his duties. The majority opinion found that counties were not liable for such negligence and thus dismissed the case. However, Justice Field dissented from this decision and argued that counties should be held responsible when their employees are negligent in performing their duties as it is within the power of a county to control its own officers and agents. He further noted that if no liability existed then there would be little incentive for government officials to act responsibly or with due care since they would have no fear of being sued or having any other consequence imposed upon them if they acted negligently or recklessly while on duty. Thus, he concluded that allowing suits against counties was necessary both as a deterrent against future misconduct but also as compensation for those injured by such conduct so long as it can be proven beyond reasonable doubt that said injury resulted from negligence on behalf of an officer employed by said county.