In the case of American Construction Company v. Jacksonville, Tampa and Key West Railway Company (1892), the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the railway company. The dispute arose when the construction company claimed that it had not been fully compensated for work done on a railroad line owned by the railway company. The court found that while there was an agreement between both parties, it did not specify how much would be paid for additional work beyond what was initially agreed upon. Therefore, any claim to further compensation could only be based on quantum meruit - reasonable value of services rendered - rather than contractual obligation. However, as per Florida law at that time which required such claims to be made within two years from completion date and since this suit was filed after four years from completion date; hence it fell outside statutory limit thus barring recovery under quantum meruit principle too.

In the dissenting opinion for American Construction Company v. Jacksonville, Tampa and Key West Railway Company, it was argued that the majority's decision to uphold a lower court ruling in favor of the railway company was incorrect. The dissenting justices believed that there were significant errors made by the trial court which should have led to a reversal of its judgment. They contended that certain evidence presented at trial had been improperly admitted and prejudiced against American Construction Company unfairly. Furthermore, they disagreed with how damages were calculated in this case as they felt it did not accurately reflect actual losses suffered by American Construction due to breach of contract by Jacksonville, Tampa and Key West Railway Co., thus leading them to believe an injustice had occurred.