In the Northern Pacific Railway Company v. Townsend case of 1902, the U.S Supreme Court ruled in favor of Townsend, a landowner who sued Northern Pacific Railway for trespassing on his property. The railway company had been granted large tracts of public lands by Congress to encourage railroad construction across sparsely populated areas. However, this particular piece was not part of that grant and was privately owned by Townsend at the time when the railway laid its tracks over it without obtaining permission or providing compensation. The court held that while Congressional grants to railroads were broad and generous, they did not include all lands indiscriminately but only those specifically designated in each act's language. Therefore, any intrusion upon private properties constituted as trespassing under common law rights unless there is clear evidence showing otherwise.

In the dissenting opinion for Northern Pacific Railway Company v. Townsend, Justice Harlan argued that the majority's decision was inconsistent with previous rulings and failed to properly interpret the law. He contended that a railway company should be held responsible for damages caused by fires started by its locomotives, regardless of whether negligence could be proven or not. According to him, this liability is inherent in their operation and they should bear it as part of doing business. The justice also pointed out that railroads are given significant privileges under federal law which come with certain responsibilities towards public safety. Therefore, he believed it was wrong to exempt them from these obligations simply because state laws might impose stricter regulations than those set at a federal level.