Judge John Lowell and the Honorable Oliver Ellsworth, Chief Justice, filed the lawsuit on June 1, 1797, according to the caption.

Merchants from several sites in Massachusetts and Philadelphia, among them John Cabot, Moses Brown, Israel Thorndike, Joseph Lee, and others, were the plaintiffs.

[2] After considering the case, the U.S. Supreme Court concluded that the record was inadequate since it omitted the parties' citizenship status.

The Court concluded that it was required to specifically declare the citizenship or alienage of the individuals concerned in order for a lawsuit to fall under the federal circuit court's jurisdiction.

This ruling reaffirmed how crucial it is to follow jurisdictional guidelines so that federal courts can properly consider cases depending on the citizenship of the parties involved.