In the case of Lake Superior Ship Canal, Railway and Iron Company v. Finan in 1894, the U.S Supreme Court ruled on a dispute over land ownership rights. The plaintiff, Lake Superior Ship Canal, Railway and Iron Company claimed that it had acquired title to certain lands under an act of Congress which granted lands to Michigan for canal construction purposes. However, the defendant Finan argued that he held valid title through a patent issued by the United States government after this grant was made but before any work began on the canal project. The court sided with Finan stating that until actual construction commenced or there was some other clear indication of intent to use these specific lands for canal purposes they remained open to settlement and sale like any other public land not reserved from sale by law or treaty stipulation. Therefore, since no such action had been taken prior to issuance of his patent his claim superseded theirs.

In the dissenting opinion for Lake Superior Ship Canal, Railway and Iron Company v. Finan, Justice Brewer argued that the majority's decision to uphold a Michigan tax on vessels using a canal owned by the plaintiff was incorrect. He contended that this tax constituted an unlawful burden on interstate commerce because it targeted vessels engaged in such commerce while exempting those involved only in intrastate activities. Furthermore, he disagreed with the majority's assertion that this case was similar to previous cases where taxes were upheld because they were levied against property rather than commercial activity itself. In his view, these precedents did not apply since unlike those cases, here there is no evidence of any benefit conferred upon taxed entities beyond mere access to navigable waters - something which should be freely available under federal law anyway.