In the case of Lewis v. Pima County, the U.S Supreme Court ruled in favor of Pima County, Arizona. The dispute arose over a bond issued by the county to fund construction for a railroad line that was never built. Lewis and other bondholders sued for repayment with interest after the project's failure. However, they faced challenges due to an 1880 territorial law which stated that bonds could only be issued if voters approved them through a referendum process - something not done in this instance. The court held that while it was regrettable investors lost money on these bonds, they were invalid from their inception because no voter approval had been obtained as required by law at that time. Therefore, Pima County was under no obligation to repay them or any accrued interest since they should have never been issued in the first place without proper legal procedures being followed.

In the dissenting opinion for Lewis v. Pima County, it was argued that the county should not be held liable for damages caused by a mob lynching of an imprisoned individual under its care. The dissenting justices contended that while such actions were undoubtedly reprehensible and illegal, they could not be attributed to negligence on part of the county or its officials unless there was evidence showing they had failed in their duty to protect prisoners from harm. They further reasoned that holding counties financially responsible for crimes committed by mobs would set a dangerous precedent and potentially lead to widespread abuse of this principle. Therefore, according to them, liability should only apply if there is clear proof of neglect or misconduct by public officials rather than simply because a crime occurred within their jurisdiction.