Central Trust Company v. Seagood is a Supreme Court case from 1903 that dealt with the issue of whether a state court could enjoin a federal court from hearing a case. The case arose when the Central Trust Company of Cincinnati, Ohio, sued the Seagood family in a state court in Ohio for the payment of a debt. The Seagoods then filed a petition in the federal court in Ohio, asking for an injunction to prevent the state court from hearing the case. The Supreme Court held that the federal court did not have the power to enjoin the state court from hearing the case. The Court reasoned that the federal court had no jurisdiction over the state court, and that the state court had the exclusive power to decide the case. The Court also noted that the federal court could not interfere with the state court's proceedings, as this would be a violation of the separation of powers doctrine. The Court concluded that the federal court could not enjoin the state court from hearing the case, and the Seagoods' petition was denied.

In the dissenting opinion of Central Trust Company v. Seagood, Justice Harlan argued that the majority’s decision was wrongfully based on a misinterpretation of Ohio law and should be reversed. He noted that under Ohio law, when an individual deposits money into a bank account in their own name with another person as payee, it is considered to be held by them jointly and not solely by either party. As such, he argued that any funds withdrawn from this joint account must have been done so with both parties' consent or knowledge; therefore, Central Trust Co., who had no involvement in creating the original deposit agreement between Seagood and his wife could not claim exclusive ownership over these funds without proof of fraud or misrepresentation on behalf of one or both parties involved. In conclusion, Justice Harlan believed that since there was no evidence presented to suggest any wrongdoing occurred during the creation of this joint bank account agreement between Seagood and his wife nor did they act fraudulently while withdrawing funds from said account; thusly Central Trust Co.'s claims were unfounded and should be dismissed accordingly.