In the 1917 case of Bates v. Bodie, the United States Supreme Court ruled on a dispute involving property rights and inheritance laws in Virginia. The plaintiff, Mrs. Bates, was seeking to claim her share of an estate that had been left by her late husband's father to his sons' children rather than his sons themselves. However, one son (Mrs. Bates' husband) predeceased his father without leaving any issue behind him; thus according to Virginia law at that time, he could not inherit from his father’s estate as it would pass directly to the grandchildren instead. The court held that under Virginia law at the time when Mr.Bates died intestate (without a will), if there were no surviving descendants or parents then siblings would be next in line for inheritance before grandparents or their descendants - meaning Mrs.Bates should have inherited her husband's portion of the estate upon his death. However due to changes in state legislation after this point which altered these rules so only direct descendants could inherit where there were no surviving spouses or parents – effectively excluding Mrs.Bates from inheriting anything further from her late husband’s family beyond what she already received through him directly.

In the dissenting opinion for Bates v. Bodie, Justice Holmes disagreed with the majority's decision to reverse and remand the case back to state court. He argued that there was no federal question involved in this case as it was purely a matter of state law concerning property rights. According to him, whether or not a lien existed on certain properties due to unpaid taxes is an issue that should be decided by local courts based on their understanding of local laws and regulations. Therefore, he believed that the Supreme Court had no jurisdiction over such matters and should refrain from interfering in them unnecessarily. Furthermore, he pointed out that even if there were any constitutional issues at stake here they would have been incidental rather than central to this dispute making it inappropriate for federal intervention.