Andrew Wylie, Jr., Administrator of Samuel Baldwin, appealed to the Supreme Court against Richard S. Coxe in a case concerning an unpaid debt. The lower court had ruled that the debt was due and payable by Baldwin's estate to Coxe but Wylie argued that it should not be paid because there was no written evidence of the agreement between them. The Supreme Court agreed with Wylie and reversed the decision of the lower court on grounds that verbal contracts are not enforceable unless they can be proven by other means such as witnesses or circumstantial evidence. This ruling established a precedent for future cases involving oral agreements which must now have some form of proof before being enforced in courts across America.

In the dissenting opinion of Andrew Wylie, Jr., Administrator of Samuel Baldwin v. Richard S. Coxe, Justice McLean argued that the lower court had erred in its ruling and should have found for the appellant on all counts. He noted that there was no dispute as to whether or not a contract existed between Baldwin and Coxe; rather, it was clear from both parties’ testimony that an agreement had been made whereby Coxe would pay $2,000 for certain lands owned by Baldwin with payment due within one year. The only issue before the court was whether or not this contract could be enforced against Coxe despite his failure to make timely payment as agreed upon in their bargain. In light of this fact, McLean reasoned that since there were no conditions attached to either party's performance under the terms of their agreement – such as a stipulation requiring full payment at once – then any delay in fulfilling his obligation did not render him liable for breach of contract nor absolve him from making good on his debt owed to Baldwin's estate after he passed away. Therefore, he concluded that justice demanded judgment be rendered in favor of Wylie and against Coxe so long as sufficient proof could be provided demonstrating compliance with other requirements necessary for enforcement under state law governing contracts at time when they entered into theirs arrangement together