In the Blake v. McClung case of 1899, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on a dispute involving land ownership and inheritance laws in Tennessee. The appellant, Mrs. Blake, was a widow who had inherited property from her deceased husband but later sold it to Mr. McClung without disclosing that she did not have full rights to sell it due to an existing mortgage lien against the property by her late husband's creditors. The court held that under Tennessee law at the time of sale (which followed common law principles), Mrs. Blake only possessed limited dower rights over one-third of her late husband's real estate properties for life or until remarriage; she could not legally transfer full ownership through sale as claimed during transaction with Mr.McClung. Thus, when Mr.McClung discovered this fact after purchase and sued for fraud and misrepresentation, he was entitled to recover damages equivalent to his loss incurred due to reduced value of purchased land because of undisclosed mortgage lien. This ruling underscored importance of accurate disclosure in real estate transactions and highlighted potential legal pitfalls associated with complex inheritance laws.

In the dissenting opinion for Blake v. McClung, it was argued that the majority's decision to uphold a state law requiring segregation in public places was inconsistent with the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution. The dissenting justices contended that this amendment guarantees equal protection under the law and does not allow states to enforce laws that discriminate based on race or color. They believed that such discriminatory laws were inherently unequal, regardless of whether separate facilities provided were "equal" in quality or service. Furthermore, they asserted that these types of laws fostered feelings of inferiority among African Americans and perpetuated racial prejudice within society at large. Therefore, they disagreed with upholding any state legislation enforcing racial segregation.