In the case of William Taylor and Others v. George M. Savage, Executor of Samuel Savage, Deceased, the Supreme Court was asked to decide whether a contract between two parties that had been partially performed could be enforced by law. The appellants argued that they had entered into an agreement with Samuel Savage for the sale of certain lands in Virginia and were entitled to specific performance because part of their consideration had already been paid before his death. The executor contended that since no deed or other writing existed as evidence of this agreement it should not be enforced by law due to lack of proof. Ultimately, the court held in favor of the appellants ruling that partial performance is sufficient evidence for enforcing contracts even if there is no written document proving its existence.

In this case, the Supreme Court was asked to decide whether a deed of trust created by Samuel Savage in 1835 could be enforced against his estate after he died. The majority opinion held that it could not because the deed did not meet certain formal requirements set out in Virginia law at the time. In dissent, Justice McLean argued that even though there were some technical deficiencies with the document, its intent and purpose should still be honored since it had been accepted as valid for nine years prior to Savage's death. He further noted that if such documents were invalidated on mere technicalities then creditors would suffer greatly due to their reliance on them over long periods of time without any indication from either party that they might later become unenforceable.