In the 1926 case of Deutsche Bank Filiale Nurnberg v. Humphrey, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of Deutsche Bank, reversing a lower court's decision that had favored Humphrey. The case centered around an agreement between Humphrey and a German company during World War I to sell goods on commission in America. However, due to wartime restrictions, these transactions were not completed until after the war ended when Germany was suffering from hyperinflation which significantly reduced the value of payments made by Humphrey to settle his debt with the German company. The issue before the court was whether or not it would be equitable for Humphrey to pay off his debt at post-war exchange rates rather than pre-war ones as this would result in him paying less than what he originally owed due to inflation effects on currency values. The Supreme Court held that equity demanded payment based on pre-war exchange rates because those were conditions under which original contract was agreed upon and therefore reversed lower courts' decisions allowing payment at postwar rates.

The dissenting opinion in the case of Deutsche Bank Filiale Nurnberg v. Humphrey argued that the majority's decision was inconsistent with previous rulings and failed to consider important aspects of international law. The dissent pointed out that under international law, a foreign government has no obligation to recognize or enforce judgments made by courts in another country unless there is a specific agreement between those countries. In this case, Germany had not agreed to enforce U.S. court decisions regarding its citizens' property located within its borders, so it should not be expected to do so now simply because an American citizen was involved. Furthermore, the dissent noted that if every nation were allowed to seize assets belonging to foreigners based on their own domestic laws without regard for international agreements or principles of comity (mutual respect among nations), it would lead to chaos and potential conflict on a global scale.