George H. Thatcher was a stockholder in the Schenectady and Saratoga Plank Road Company who objected to the company's decision to build a branch plank road. Although Thatcher was a subscriber, he did not pay an installment due the company, claiming that the company had settled his account and accepted another subscriber in his place. The company sued him for the funds it claimed he owed. The case rose to the New York State Supreme Court and then the state Court of Appeals.