The U.S. Supreme Court case Jim Butler Tonopah Mining Company v. West End Consolidated Mining Company in 1917 revolved around a dispute over mining rights in Nevada. The plaintiff, Jim Butler Tonopah Mining Company, claimed that the defendant, West End Consolidated Mining Company had trespassed on their property and extracted valuable minerals without permission or compensation to them. The main issue was determining the correct boundary line between these two properties as both companies held conflicting interpretations of where it should be drawn based on different surveys conducted by government officials at different times. In its decision, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of West End Consolidated Mining Co., stating that they were not guilty of trespassing because they operated within their rightful boundaries according to an earlier survey which was deemed more accurate than later ones used by Jim Butler Tonopah Mine Co.. This ruling established important precedent for future disputes involving mineral rights and land boundaries.

In the dissenting opinion for Jim Butler Tonopah Mining Company v. West End Consolidated Mining Company, Justice Holmes disagreed with the majority's interpretation of mining law and property rights. He argued that a miner who discovers valuable minerals on public land has exclusive right to those minerals, even if they extend beneath another person's claim. This is because the discoverer was first to find and develop them, thus earning their ownership through labor and investment. In this case, he believed that Jim Butler Tonopah Mining Company had rightful claim over all veins leading from its original discovery point - including those extending under West End’s ground - as per established customs in mining districts at that time which were later codified into federal law by Congress in 1866 and 1872 respectively.