The U.S. Supreme Court case Louisiana Railway & Navigation Company v. Behrman, Mayor of the City of New Orleans in 1914 involved a dispute over property rights and municipal authority. The Louisiana Railway & Navigation Company had constructed tracks on land that was later incorporated into the city limits of New Orleans. The city demanded that the company remove its tracks so it could pave streets, but the railway company refused, arguing they had been granted permission to construct their lines by an act of state legislature prior to incorporation and thus held superior title to use this land for railroad purposes. The court ruled in favor of New Orleans, stating that when a municipality is given control over public streets within its boundaries (as per usual practice), it has full power to regulate how those streets are used - even if there were pre-existing uses established before incorporation or annexation into the city's jurisdictional area. This decision upheld cities' right to manage their own infrastructure development without being hindered by private entities claiming older legislative permissions.

In the dissenting opinion for Louisiana Railway & Navigation Company v. Behrman, Justice Holmes disagreed with the majority's ruling that New Orleans could require a railway company to pay for street improvements necessitated by its tracks. He argued that this was an unconstitutional taking of property without just compensation under the Fifth Amendment. According to him, if a city can make such demands on railroads, it would be able to impose any burden it wished upon them and effectively drive them out of business or seize control over their operations. This would violate not only the Constitution but also principles of fairness and justice in dealing with private corporations providing public services.