In the 1890 case of Lloyd v. McWilliams, the United States Supreme Court addressed a dispute over land ownership in Florida. The plaintiff, Lloyd, claimed that he had purchased land from the state of Florida which was later sold by the state to McWilliams. He argued that his purchase should be recognized as valid because it occurred before any legislation was passed allowing for public sale of such lands and thus took precedence over subsequent sales. However, McWilliams contended that at the time when Lloyd made his purchase, there were no laws authorizing private individuals to buy such property directly from the state government. The court ruled in favor of McWilliams on grounds that at time when Lloyd bought this piece of land there were no statutes or regulations permitting direct purchases by private citizens from State Government; therefore making his claim invalid since it lacked legal basis under existing law during its occurrence period.

In the dissenting opinion for Lloyd v. McWilliams, Justice Bradley argued that the court majority had erred in its interpretation of Alabama's state law regarding property rights and inheritance. He contended that under Alabama law, a widow was entitled to dower rights in her husband's real estate properties regardless of whether they were acquired before or after marriage. Therefore, he disagreed with the majority view which held that Mrs. McWilliams only had claim over properties acquired during her marriage to Mr. Lloyd but not those he owned prior to their union. Justice Bradley believed this ruling contradicted established legal principles and unfairly deprived Mrs.McWilliams of her rightful share as a surviving spouse.