In the Evansville v. Dennett case of 1895, the U.S Supreme Court ruled in favor of the city of Evansville, Indiana. The dispute arose when a property owner named Dennett sued the city for damages after it changed street grades and caused flooding on his land. He argued that this action constituted an illegal taking under the Fifth Amendment's Takings Clause, which prohibits private property from being taken for public use without just compensation. However, the court held that changes to street grades were part of a municipality's police power to regulate streets and did not constitute a taking requiring compensation unless there was substantial damage or obstruction to access beyond what was commonly experienced by other properties affected by such improvements. Therefore, since Dennett failed to show any unique or special injury different from those suffered generally by other adjacent properties due to these alterations in grade levels made by Evansville City authorities as part of their general plan for improving streets within its jurisdictional limits; he could not claim any constitutional violation warranting compensatory relief.

In the dissenting opinion for Evansville v. Dennett, Justice Brewer argued that the city of Evansville's imposition of wharfage fees was unconstitutional. He contended that such fees were a direct burden on interstate commerce and thus violated the Commerce Clause of the U.S Constitution. According to him, it is not within a state or municipality’s power to impose charges on vessels engaged in interstate commerce for use of its facilities unless expressly granted by Congress. He further stated that while states have rights over their navigable waters and can make regulations concerning them, they cannot interfere with free navigation nor levy taxes or duties on vessels involved in interstate trade without congressional approval.