In the case of Minneapolis & St. Louis Railway Co. v. United States et al., 1959, the Supreme Court ruled on whether a railroad company could abandon its line without approval from the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC). The Minneapolis and St. Louis Railway Company sought to discontinue two segments of their railway lines due to financial losses but were denied by ICC as it was deemed against public interest. The railway company argued that this denial violated their Fifth Amendment rights, asserting that forcing them to continue operations resulted in 'taking' private property for public use without just compensation. The Supreme Court upheld ICC's decision, ruling that railroads are not entitled to abandon parts of their lines without regulatory approval even if they're operating at a loss. It held that while railroads have some characteristics of private enterprises, they also serve a public function and therefore subject themselves voluntarily to regulation for the common good when they choose such business model - including potential restrictions on abandonment decisions.

In the dissenting opinion for Minneapolis & St. Louis Railway Co. v. United States et al., Justice Harlan argued that the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) had overstepped its authority by ordering a merger between two railway companies without considering whether it was in the public interest or not, as required by federal law. He contended that while Congress gave ICC power to regulate mergers and acquisitions among railroads, this power should be exercised within certain limits set forth in Section 5(2) of the Interstate Commerce Act which requires consideration of public interest before approving any transaction involving control change of carriers under its jurisdiction. The majority's interpretation would give ICC an unchecked discretion contrary to Congressional intent when it enacted Section 5(2). Therefore, he believed that such broad reading is inappropriate and could lead to potential abuses of regulatory powers.