In the 1891 case of Kellam v. Keith, the United States Supreme Court examined a dispute over land ownership in Virginia. The plaintiff, Kellam, claimed that he had purchased a parcel of land from its rightful owner and was therefore entitled to possession. However, the defendant, Keith, argued that he held legal title to the property due to an earlier purchase agreement with another party who allegedly owned it at that time. The lower court ruled in favor of Keith based on evidence presented about his prior transaction. The Supreme Court reversed this decision after reviewing Virginia's laws regarding real estate transactions and determining they were not properly applied by the lower court. According to these laws, any claimant seeking enforcement of their rights under a contract for sale must demonstrate they acted in good faith when entering into said contract - specifically proving they did not know or have reason to suspect any competing claims existed at that time. The high court found no such proof was provided by Keith during trial; hence his claim could not be upheld as valid under state law regardless of whether there might've been some merit otherwise (i.e., if he indeed bought from someone else first). Therefore it ordered judgment entered for Kellam instead.

In the dissenting opinion for Kellam v. Keith, it was argued that the majority's decision to uphold a lower court ruling in favor of Mr. Keith contradicted established legal principles regarding property rights and inheritance law. The dissenting justices believed that Mrs. Kellam had a legitimate claim to her late husband's estate, which should not have been denied based on technicalities related to her remarriage after his death. They contended that this interpretation of the law unfairly penalized widows who chose to remarry and could potentially lead to unjust outcomes in future cases involving similar circumstances.