In the case of Lehigh Coal & Navigation Company v. United States (1919), the U.S Supreme Court ruled in favor of the government, upholding a law that allowed for federal regulation and taxation on coal mined by private companies but transported across state lines. The Lehigh Coal & Navigation Company had argued that this was an infringement on their property rights and exceeded Congress's authority under the Commerce Clause. However, Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., writing for a unanimous court, rejected these arguments stating that once goods are introduced into interstate commerce they become subject to regulatory power of Congress regardless if it is still owned by its original producer or not.

In the dissenting opinion for Lehigh Coal & Navigation Company v. United States, it was argued that the government did not have a right to take private property without just compensation under the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution. The dissenting justices believed that this principle should apply even in cases where public necessity required such action, as they felt that individual rights and liberties were paramount. They also disagreed with majority's interpretation of "public use," arguing instead for a narrower definition which would limit governmental power over private property. Furthermore, they contended that if Congress had intended to allow such broad powers under its war authority, it would have explicitly stated so in legislation rather than leaving it up to judicial interpretation.