The Covington Drawbridge Company and Richard M. Nebeker, appellants, brought a case against Alexander O. Shepherd and others before the Supreme Court of the United States in 1858. The dispute revolved around whether or not the bridge company had to pay damages for obstructing navigation on the Potomac River by building a drawbridge across it without permission from Congress. The court found that although there was no express authority given to build such bridges, they were allowed under implied powers granted by Congress through their power over commerce and navigation between states as outlined in Article I Section 8 of the Constitution. Furthermore, any damage caused by such construction must be paid out of public funds rather than private ones since it was done with Congressional approval even if implicit rather than explicit. Ultimately, this ruling established precedent for future cases involving similar disputes regarding navigable waters within state boundaries being subject to federal control when necessary for interstate commerce purposes

In the dissenting opinion of The Covington Drawbridge Company and Richard M. Nebeker v Alexander O. Shepherd and Others, Justice Grier argued that the majority's decision was contrary to both law and justice. He stated that it would be unjust for a party who had been wrongfully deprived of their property by another to then have to pay damages for such deprivation due to an act of Congress which they could not control or prevent. Furthermore, he believed that if Congress intended this result, they should have made it clear in their legislation instead of leaving it open-ended as they did with this case. He concluded his dissent by stating that although he respected the authority vested in Congress, he could not agree with a decision which seemed so clearly against equity and justice as well as established legal principles at the time.