John Den, lessee of Polly Weatherhead, brought a case against John Baskerville and fourteen other defendants in the Supreme Court. The plaintiff argued that he had been wrongfully evicted from his property by the defendants. He claimed that they had used force to remove him without legal authority or justification. The court found in favor of the plaintiff and ordered all parties involved to pay damages for their wrongful actions. This decision set an important precedent for future cases involving eviction disputes as it established that those who use unlawful means to evict another person are liable for any resulting damage caused by their actions.

In the case of John Den, Lessee of Polly Weatherhead v. John Baskerville et al., the dissenting opinion argued that a deed from 1837 was valid and should be enforced by the court. The majority had ruled that this deed was invalid because it did not meet certain requirements for validity under Virginia law at the time. However, in dissent, it was argued that since these requirements were not in place when the deed was created and accepted by both parties involved, they could not be applied retroactively to render it void. Furthermore, there were other factors which indicated its validity such as witnesses who attested to its authenticity and an acknowledgement from one of those involved with executing it before a magistrate. As such, despite being overruled by a majority decision on technical grounds regarding Virginia law at the time of ruling rather than when executed originally; this dissenting opinion held firm to upholding what appeared to have been an otherwise legitimate transaction between two parties over 13 years prior.