In the case of Midland Realty Co. v. Kansas City Power & Light Co., 1936, the U.S Supreme Court ruled in favor of Kansas City Power & Light Company (KCP&L). The dispute arose when KCP&L installed a power line across property owned by Midland Realty without its consent and refused to pay for an easement. Midland sued for damages, arguing that KCP&L was trespassing on their land and had taken it unlawfully. However, the court held that under Missouri law, public utilities like KCP&L were granted certain rights-of-way over private property to provide essential services such as electricity supply to consumers. Therefore, they did not require permission from or need to compensate landowners for using their properties as long as they used them reasonably and caused minimal damage.

In the dissenting opinion for Midland Realty Co. v. Kansas City Power & Light Co., it was argued that the majority's decision to allow a public utility company to condemn private property for its own use, even when such use is not directly related to providing public services, goes beyond what is allowed by eminent domain laws and principles of justice. The dissenting justices believed that while utilities have the right to acquire properties necessary for their operations, this should not extend to acquiring additional land purely as an investment or source of profit unrelated to their primary function. They feared this ruling could set a dangerous precedent where corporations could abuse power at the expense of individual property rights, thus undermining fundamental principles upon which our society rests - respect for personal liberty and private property.