In the case of Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v. State of West Virginia in 1919, the U.S Supreme Court was tasked with resolving an interstate dispute over natural gas distribution. The state of Pennsylvania sued West Virginia for enacting laws that restricted the out-of-state exportation of natural gas, which significantly affected Pennsylvania's supply. The court had to determine whether these restrictions violated the Commerce Clause by interfering with interstate commerce. In a decision led by Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., it ruled in favor of Pennsylvania and held that while states have authority over their resources, they cannot enact legislation that disrupts or discriminates against interstate commerce as this power is reserved for Congress under Article I Section 8 Clause 3 (the Commerce Clause)of the Constitution. This landmark ruling established important precedents regarding federal supremacy and state rights concerning resource allocation and regulation.

In the dissenting opinion for the case Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v. State of West Virginia, Justice Holmes disagreed with the majority's decision to intervene in a dispute between states over natural gas distribution. He argued that this was not an issue for federal courts but rather one that should be resolved through interstate commerce regulation or legislation by Congress. Holmes believed it was inappropriate and beyond their jurisdiction for Supreme Court justices to make decisions about economic policy and resource allocation which he saw as inherently political issues. Furthermore, he contended that there were no clear legal principles on which to base such a judgment, making any ruling arbitrary and potentially biased towards one state's interests over another’s.