In the case of Georgia Railway & Electric Co. et al. v. Decatur, 1934, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the city of Decatur against a group of utility companies that were challenging an ordinance requiring them to pay for street paving costs around their tracks and poles. The utilities argued that this was unconstitutional as it violated their rights under the Fourteenth Amendment's due process clause by imposing an unfair burden on them without just compensation or equal protection under law. The court disagreed with these arguments, stating that such ordinances are within a municipality’s power to enact for public welfare purposes and do not constitute unjust discrimination nor violate constitutional protections if they are reasonable and applied uniformly across all similar businesses in its jurisdiction. This decision upheld municipalities' right to impose regulations on utilities operating within their boundaries for public benefit even if those rules result in additional costs being borne by those companies.

In the dissenting opinion for Georgia Railway & Electric Co. et al. v. Decatur, it was argued that the majority's decision to uphold a city ordinance requiring street railway companies to pave and maintain areas around their tracks infringed upon private property rights without due process of law, violating the Fourteenth Amendment. The dissenting justices contended that such an ordinance imposed an unfair burden on these companies as they were singled out from other businesses and individuals who also use public streets but are not required to bear similar costs or responsibilities for maintenance and repair work. They further asserted that this case represented a dangerous precedent where local governments could arbitrarily impose financial burdens on certain entities under the guise of regulating public utilities.