In the case of State of Georgia v. Tennessee Copper Company and Ducktown Sulphur, Copper & Iron Company, Limited in 1914, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Georgia. The state had filed a suit against two copper companies for causing environmental harm by discharging noxious gases from their plants located in Tennessee which were damaging forests and crops across the border in Georgia. This was one of the earliest cases to address transboundary pollution issues. The court held that states have a right to protect their natural resources from substantial injury even if such damage is caused by activities outside their borders. Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., writing for the majority, ordered both companies to limit sulfur dioxide emissions substantially so as not to cause harm across state lines.

In the dissenting opinion for the case of State of Georgia v. Tennessee Copper Company and Ducktown Sulphur, Copper & Iron Company, Limited (1914), Justice Holmes argued that while he agreed with the majority's decision to grant an injunction against the copper companies due to their harmful sulfur emissions damaging Georgia's lands, he disagreed on how damages should be calculated. He believed that it was inappropriate for a court to issue an injunction without considering whether monetary compensation would suffice as a remedy. In his view, if damage could be adequately compensated by money and there were no other reasons why legal remedies were inadequate then an injunction should not be granted. This is because such measures can cause significant economic disruption which may outweigh environmental concerns in certain cases.