In the case of Hegler v. Faulkner, 1893, the U.S Supreme Court was tasked with resolving a dispute over land ownership in Mississippi. The plaintiff, Hegler, claimed that he had purchased the property from its rightful owner and thus held legal title to it. However, Faulkner argued that he had been occupying and using this land for several years without any contestation or interference from anyone else including Hegler; hence under Mississippi law which allowed individuals to acquire property rights through 'adverse possession', he should be recognized as the legitimate owner. The court ruled in favor of Faulkner on grounds that his long-term occupancy and use of this land without interruption constituted adverse possession under state law - even though no formal deed transfer had taken place between him and previous owners. This ruling affirmed an important principle: actual physical control over a piece of real estate can sometimes supersede paper documentation when determining who holds true ownership rights.

In the dissenting opinion for Hegler v. Faulkner, it was argued that the majority's decision to uphold a lower court ruling - which held that a mortgage on an undivided interest in land could be foreclosed without making co-owners parties to the suit - was incorrect. The dissenting justices believed this violated basic principles of equity jurisprudence and due process rights under the Constitution. They contended that all persons with an interest in property must be made parties to any litigation affecting their interests so they can protect those interests adequately. Furthermore, they disagreed with the majority's view that foreclosure proceedings were not actions against individuals but rather against properties themselves; instead, they maintained such proceedings directly affected individual rights and thus required full participation by all interested parties.