In the 1921 case Cunningham v. Rodgers et al., the United States Supreme Court ruled on a dispute involving land ownership and inheritance law in Oklahoma. The plaintiff, Cunningham, was an heir of a deceased member of the Choctaw tribe who had been allotted land under federal statutes governing tribal lands. After his relative's death, state courts awarded part of this property to Rodgers and others based on their claim that they were also heirs through marriage. However, Cunningham argued that these allotments were governed by federal rather than state law and thus not subject to normal inheritance rules. The Supreme Court agreed with Cunningham’s argument stating that such allotments are indeed governed by Federal Law which supersedes State Law in matters concerning Native American tribes' affairs including those related to inheritance rights over tribal lands allocated under Federal Statutes. Therefore, it held that only blood relatives could inherit these properties unless Congress specifically provided otherwise - effectively excluding spouses from inheriting unless explicitly stated so by Congress itself.

In the dissenting opinion for Cunningham v. Rodgers et al., Justice McReynolds disagreed with the majority's decision to uphold a lower court ruling that denied Cunningham, an American citizen, compensation from British authorities who had seized his property during World War I. The justice argued that under international law and treaties between Britain and America, Cunningham was entitled to compensation because he was not residing in enemy territory at the time of seizure. He further contended that denying such claims would set a dangerous precedent where foreign governments could seize American citizens' properties without any legal repercussions or obligations for compensation. This view differed significantly from the majority opinion which held that since Britain had acted within its rights as a sovereign nation at war, it owed no duty of restitution to non-resident aliens whose property they confiscated on their soil.