In Nonconnah Turnpike v. Tennessee ex rel. Talley, the Supreme Court of the United States was asked to decide whether the state of Tennessee had the right to take possession of a turnpike road without compensating the owner. The turnpike road had been built by the Nonconnah Turnpike Company, and the state had taken possession of it without paying the company for it. The Court held that the state had the right to take possession of the turnpike road without compensating the owner. The Court reasoned that the state had the power to take possession of the road for public use, and that the owner of the road had no right to compensation for the taking. The Court also held that the state had the right to take possession of the road without first obtaining the consent of the owner. The Court's decision in this case established that the state has the right to take possession of private property for public use without compensating the owner. This decision has been cited in numerous cases since then, and it has been used to support the idea that the state has the right to take possession of private property for public use without compensating the owner.

In Nonconnah Turnpike v. Tennessee ex rel. Talley, the Supreme Court was asked to decide whether a state could tax a private corporation for its use of public roads and bridges in order to construct turnpikes that would be used by the general public. The majority opinion held that such taxation was unconstitutional because it violated the Fourteenth Amendment's Due Process Clause, which prohibits states from depriving any person or entity of property without due process of law. Justice Field dissented, arguing that while he agreed with the majority on their interpretation of the Fourteenth Amendment, he believed that this case presented an exception since it involved taxation rather than deprivation of property rights. He argued further that if states were not allowed to impose taxes on corporations using public roads and bridges for their own benefit then they would have no way to fund necessary infrastructure improvements or repairs needed for those same roads and bridges used by everyone else in society as well.