In the case Doullut & Williams Company, Inc. v. United States (1924), the U.S Supreme Court ruled in favor of the United States government regarding a dispute over property rights on batture lands along the Mississippi River near New Orleans. The Doullut and Williams Company claimed ownership based on a Spanish land grant from 1806, but this was disputed by the federal government who argued that it had acquired these lands as part of Louisiana Purchase in 1803. The court held that under international law principles, Spain could not have granted title to these lands after they were sold to America because they no longer possessed sovereignty over them at that time. Therefore, any such grants made post-sale would be invalid and unenforceable against American claims to those same territories.

In the dissenting opinion for Doullut & Williams Company, Inc., v. United States, the justice argued that the government did not have a right to seize property without providing just compensation. The case involved a dispute over land in Louisiana which was claimed by both Doullut & Williams and the U.S. Government under different acts of Congress. The majority ruled in favor of the government based on its interpretation of these acts; however, according to this dissenting view, such an interpretation violated fundamental principles of private property rights enshrined in Fifth Amendment's Takings Clause - "nor shall private property be taken for public use without just compensation". This justice believed that if any ambiguity existed regarding who had rightful ownership due to conflicting laws or interpretations thereof, it should be resolved in favor of protecting individual rights rather than expanding governmental power.