In the Northern Pacific Railroad Company v. Amacker case of 1899, the U.S Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Northern Pacific Railroad Company. The dispute arose over land ownership rights granted to railroad companies by Congress under an 1864 Act. Under this act, odd-numbered sections within a certain distance from rail lines were given to these companies as part of their compensation for building transcontinental railways. However, if those lands were already claimed or occupied at that time (known as "indemnity lands"), they could select other unclaimed public lands instead ("lieu" lands). In this case, Mr. Amacker claimed he had purchased his land before it was selected by the company as lieu land and sued them when they tried to evict him. The court held that even though there may have been errors in how some federal officials administered these selections and transfers, once such a transfer was certified by appropriate authorities it became final and binding on all parties involved - including subsequent purchasers like Mr.Amacker who bought without notice of prior claims or defects in title.

In the dissenting opinion for Northern Pacific Railroad Company v. Amacker, it was argued that the majority's decision failed to properly consider the rights of settlers under preemption laws. The dissent emphasized that these laws were designed to protect and encourage settlement in undeveloped areas by giving settlers a preferential right to purchase land they had improved upon before anyone else could claim it. In this case, Amacker had made significant improvements on his plot of land before Northern Pacific Railroad Company claimed ownership based on an 1864 Act granting them alternate sections of public lands along their rail line route. The dissent believed that since Amacker settled and improved upon his plot prior to any survey determining which sections fell within railroad grants, he should have been given preemptive rights over those lands as intended by Congress when enacting preemption laws.