In the case of Old Dominion Copper Mining and Smelting Company v. Lewisohn in 1907, the US Supreme Court ruled on a dispute involving mining rights. The Old Dominion company had leased certain mining properties to Adolph Lewisohn and his associates, who then subleased them to another party. When it was discovered that there were valuable copper deposits on adjacent land not included in the original lease but which could be accessed through tunnels from the leased property, a legal battle ensued over who held rightful claim to these additional resources. The court found in favor of Lewisohn's group, ruling that their right as lessees extended beyond merely extracting minerals from directly beneath their leased land; they also had rights to any veins or lodes whose apex lay within their boundaries but dipped into adjoining territory (the "apex rule"). This decision affirmed an earlier judgment by Arizona territorial courts and set important precedent for future cases involving mineral rights under U.S. law.

In the dissenting opinion for Old Dominion Copper Mining and Smelting Company v. Lewisohn, it was argued that the majority's decision failed to properly consider the rights of minority shareholders in a corporation. The dissenting justices believed that by allowing a group of majority shareholders to sell assets without consulting or gaining approval from minority shareholders, they were effectively stripping these individuals of their property rights without due process. They contended that this violated fundamental principles of fairness and equity within corporate law, as well as constitutional protections against deprivation of property without due process under the Fourteenth Amendment. Furthermore, they expressed concern over potential abuses by majority shareholders at the expense of those holding less power within corporations.