In the case of Messenger v. Anderson in 1911, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on a dispute regarding land ownership and inheritance laws in Michigan. The plaintiff, Messenger, claimed that he was entitled to certain lands as an heir of his deceased uncle who had no children or spouse at the time of death. However, under Michigan law at that time, if a person died without direct descendants or a surviving spouse but left siblings (or their descendants), those individuals would inherit before any nieces or nephews from other siblings not directly descended from said individual's parents. The defendant Anderson argued this point and asserted her right to the property as she was also related to the deceased through one such sibling line. The court agreed with Anderson’s interpretation of state law and held that Messenger did not have claim over these lands because his relationship fell outside those prioritized by Michigan's inheritance statutes. This ruling upheld existing state-level legal interpretations about how properties should be distributed among heirs when there are no immediate family members left behind by someone who dies intestate (without leaving a will). It reinforced states' rights to establish their own rules for matters like estate succession within their jurisdiction.

In the dissenting opinion for Messenger v. Anderson, Justice Holmes disagreed with the majority's interpretation of a Michigan law regarding property rights and inheritance. He argued that under this law, when an individual dies without leaving a will or any direct heirs (children or grandchildren), their estate should be divided equally among all surviving relatives - not just those on the mother's side as was decided in this case. This would include both paternal and maternal relatives regardless of degree of kinship. According to Justice Holmes, by limiting inheritance to only one side of the family based on an arbitrary distinction between half blood and whole blood relations, it contradicts common sense understanding about familial relationships and unfairly excludes certain relatives from inheriting property they are entitled to under state law.