In the case of Lawrence v. Nelson, 1891, the United States Supreme Court examined a dispute over property rights and inheritance laws. The plaintiff, Lawrence, was an heir to a deceased man's estate who had left his entire fortune to his illegitimate children in Norway. However, under Norwegian law at that time, these children were not legally recognized as heirs unless specifically legitimized by their father - which he did not do before passing away. Therefore, according to Norwegian law they could not inherit any part of their father’s estate. Lawrence argued that since the deceased was a U.S citizen living in California at the time of death and because California law allowed for illegitimate children to inherit property from their parents without needing specific legitimization; therefore this should be applied instead of Norwegian Law. The Supreme Court ruled against Lawrence stating that although it is true that American courts generally apply local state laws when dealing with matters related to real estate located within its jurisdiction (lex rei sitae), personal properties such as movable assets are subject to different rules (lex domicilii). Since most of the disputed assets were personal properties located outside America and more closely connected with Norway than California; hence it would be appropriate for them follow lex domicilii principle i.e., applying Norwegian Laws.

The dissenting opinion in the case of Lawrence v. Nelson, 1891, was not recorded or is unavailable.