In the case of Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railway Company v. Dowell in 1912, the United States Supreme Court ruled on a dispute involving land ownership and railway rights-of-way. The plaintiff, Dowell, owned a piece of land that was bisected by railroad tracks belonging to the defendant company. When he attempted to build a fence across these tracks for his livestock's safety, it was removed by the railway company who claimed an exclusive right-of-way through their charter granted by Congress in 1850s. However, Dowell argued that this charter did not grant such exclusivity as it only allowed for construction and operation of railroads but didn't prevent others from using or crossing over those lands. The court sided with Dowell stating that while railways have certain privileges under federal law due to their public utility nature; they do not possess absolute control over all activities on their right-of-ways unless explicitly stated so in their charters or deeds. Therefore, property owners like Mr.Dowell retain some rights including building fences if necessary for protecting livestock even though it might interfere slightly with railway operations.

In the dissenting opinion for Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railway Company v. Dowell, it was argued that the court majority erred in its interpretation of Oklahoma's tax laws and their application to railway companies. The dissent contended that under state law, a railroad company should be assessed based on all property owned within the state - not just track mileage as determined by the majority ruling. It further suggested that this misinterpretation led to an unfair taxation burden placed upon local entities compared to corporations like railroads with extensive properties across multiple jurisdictions. Additionally, they disagreed with how evidence was handled during trial proceedings and believed there were procedural errors made which impacted fairness of judgment against Dowell’s claim for unjustly high taxes levied by Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railway Company.