West Tennessee Bank v. Citizens' Bank was a case heard by the United States Supreme Court in 1871. The case involved a dispute between two banks over the ownership of a promissory note. West Tennessee Bank had purchased the note from a third party, but Citizens' Bank claimed that it was the rightful owner of the note. The Supreme Court held that West Tennessee Bank was the rightful owner of the note. The Court reasoned that the note had been transferred to West Tennessee Bank in good faith, and that Citizens' Bank had failed to prove that it was the rightful owner of the note. The Court also held that West Tennessee Bank had acted in good faith in purchasing the note, and that Citizens' Bank had failed to prove that West Tennessee Bank had acted in bad faith. The Court's decision established that a party who purchases a promissory note in good faith is the rightful owner of the note, even if the original owner of the note claims that it is the rightful owner. This decision has been cited in numerous subsequent cases involving the ownership of promissory notes.

In West Tennessee Bank v. Citizens' Bank, the Supreme Court was asked to decide whether a state court had jurisdiction over an action brought by a citizen of one state against another in which the defendant resided in yet another state. The majority opinion held that such suits could not be maintained in any other forum than that of the defendant's home state, and thus ruled for Citizens' Bank. Justice Field dissented from this ruling on two grounds: firstly, he argued that it violated Article III of the Constitution because it denied citizens access to federal courts; secondly, he contended that Congress had already provided for cases like these through its power under Article IV Section 2 Clause 1 (the so-called "Full Faith and Credit" clause). He concluded his dissent with a plea for greater uniformity among states when dealing with matters involving interstate commerce or disputes between citizens of different states.