Samuel Davis brought a case against the Police Jury of Concordia Parish in Louisiana. He alleged that they had illegally sold his property, which he claimed was exempt from taxation and sale due to its status as an inheritance. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of Davis, finding that the parish had acted beyond their authority by selling his property without first obtaining permission from the legislature or court system. They also found that since it was an inheritance, it should have been exempt from taxation and sale according to state law. This decision set a precedent for future cases involving similar issues regarding inherited land and taxes owed on them.

In the case of Samuel Davis v. The Police Jury of the Parish of Concordia, Justice Daniel delivered a dissenting opinion in which he argued that the plaintiff was entitled to damages for his losses due to an illegal tax imposed by defendants. He reasoned that although it is true that individuals cannot sue states or their subdivisions without their consent, this does not apply when a state has passed laws allowing such suits. In this case, Louisiana had enacted legislation permitting individuals to bring suit against parishes and other local governments for taxes illegally collected from them; thus, Justice Daniel concluded that Davis should be allowed to recover damages from the parish for its wrongful act. Furthermore, Justice Daniel noted that even if there were no statute authorizing such suits against local governments in Louisiana at the time of Davis' claim, he would still have been able to seek relief under general principles of equity as established by common law precedent.