In the case of Coryell et al. v. Phipps et al., 1942, the United States Supreme Court was tasked with deciding on a dispute over oyster bed property rights in New Jersey waters. The plaintiffs, Coryell and others, claimed that they had exclusive rights to harvest oysters from certain beds under a grant given by the state of New Jersey. However, the defendants, Phipps and others who were citizens of Delaware but not New Jersey residents or taxpayers argued that they also had harvesting rights based on federal laws governing interstate commerce and navigation as well as equal protection clauses in both states' constitutions. The court ruled against Coryell's claim for exclusive harvesting privileges stating that such exclusivity violated principles of common law which held submerged lands in trust for public use unless specifically granted otherwise by legislation. Furthermore, it found no evidence supporting an exception to this rule within either federal or state law granting special privilege to any specific group or individual regarding these resources. This decision upheld principles ensuring fair access to natural resources across state lines while reinforcing limitations on states' abilities to favor their own citizens over those from other states when it comes to resource allocation.

The dissenting opinion in the Coryell et al. v. Phipps et al., 1942 case argued that the majority's decision to uphold a New Jersey law restricting oyster harvesting rights was not consistent with the Privileges and Immunities Clause of Article IV, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution which guarantees citizens in each state all privileges and immunities granted to citizens in other states. The dissenters believed that this clause should be interpreted broadly to protect out-of-state residents from discriminatory laws such as New Jersey's restriction on oyster harvesting, arguing it unfairly favored local over non-local fishermen by granting exclusive fishing rights only to its own residents while denying them to others who are equally entitled under federal law.