In the case of Daniels v. Merrithew (1914), the United States Supreme Court addressed a dispute over land ownership in Maine. The plaintiff, Daniels, claimed that he had purchased a piece of property from one party while it was under lease to another party, Merrithew. After the purchase, Daniels sought to evict Merrithew and take possession of the property but was unsuccessful in lower courts due to an interpretation of state law that allowed tenants to remain on leased properties even after they were sold until their leases expired or were legally terminated. However, upon appeal by Daniels, the U.S Supreme Court reversed this decision stating that federal law superseded state laws regarding such matters and therefore upheld his right as new owner to terminate existing leases and take immediate possession.

In the dissenting opinion for Daniels v. Merrithew, it was argued that the majority's decision to uphold a state law requiring all corporations to pay an annual license fee disregarded previous Supreme Court rulings on similar issues. The dissenting justices believed that this ruling violated the Fourteenth Amendment's Equal Protection Clause because it unfairly targeted out-of-state corporations while exempting domestic ones from paying any fees. They also disagreed with the majority’s interpretation of what constitutes “doing business” in a state, arguing that merely having agents present does not necessarily mean a corporation is conducting operations there. Furthermore, they contended that such laws could potentially discourage interstate commerce by imposing burdensome costs on companies seeking to expand their businesses across state lines.