Boylan v. Hot Springs Railroad Company was a case heard by the Supreme Court of the United States in 1891. The case involved a dispute between the Hot Springs Railroad Company and the Boylan family over the ownership of a piece of land in Arkansas. The Boylan family had purchased the land from the railroad company in 1876, but the railroad company later claimed that the land was part of its right-of-way and that the Boylan family had no right to the land. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Boylan family, finding that the railroad company had no right to the land and that the Boylan family had a valid title to the land. The Court also held that the railroad company had failed to prove that the land was part of its right-of-way and that the Boylan family had a valid title to the land. The decision in this case established the principle that a railroad company cannot claim a right-of-way over land that it does not own.

In the dissenting opinion for Boylan v. Hot Springs Railroad Company, Justice Harlan argued that the majority's decision was wrong and should be reversed. He believed that the Arkansas Supreme Court had correctly interpreted state law in finding that a railroad company could not be held liable for damages caused by its negligence when it failed to provide adequate safety measures on its property. According to him, this interpretation of state law was consistent with prior decisions from other states as well as federal court rulings which recognized similar principles of liability under common law. Furthermore, he argued that allowing such claims would lead to an increase in litigation costs and ultimately discourage investment in railroads due to increased risk exposure. In conclusion, Justice Harlan felt strongly that there were no grounds upon which the majority's ruling could stand and urged them to reverse their decision accordingly.