In the case of Beyer v. Lefevre in 1901, the U.S Supreme Court dealt with a dispute over land ownership rights. The plaintiff, Beyer, claimed that he had purchased a piece of property from an individual who had previously bought it at a tax sale. However, the defendant, Lefevre argued that this previous purchase was invalid because proper notice hadn't been given to him as required by law before his property was sold for unpaid taxes. The court ruled in favor of Lefevre stating that due process requires adequate notification before someone's property can be taken away and sold for unpaid taxes. Therefore since no such notice was provided to Lefevre prior to selling his land at tax auction; thus making any subsequent sales (including Beyer’s) void.

The dissenting opinion in the Beyer v. Lefevre case argued that the majority's decision to uphold a lower court ruling, which held that a New York law allowing for the seizure of property from non-residents was constitutional, was incorrect. The dissent contended that this law violated due process rights under the Fourteenth Amendment because it allowed for property to be taken without proper notice or opportunity for hearing. They believed this constituted an unlawful deprivation of property and thus disagreed with both the interpretation and application of constitutional principles by their colleagues in majority.