The Packing Company Cases were a series of cases heard by the United States Supreme Court in 1881. The cases involved a dispute between the Packing Company and the Provision Company over the ownership of certain goods. The Packing Company claimed that the goods were theirs, while the Provision Company argued that they had purchased the goods from the Packing Company. The Supreme Court ultimately ruled in favor of the Packing Company, finding that the goods were indeed owned by the Packing Company. The Court held that the Packing Company had a superior right to the goods, as they had been in possession of them prior to the Provision Company's purchase. The Court also held that the Provision Company had not taken reasonable steps to protect their interests in the goods, and thus the Packing Company was entitled to the goods. The Court's decision established the principle that a party in possession of goods has a superior right to them, and that a party purchasing goods must take reasonable steps to protect their interests.

In the Packing Company Cases, the Supreme Court was asked to decide whether a state could impose taxes on goods imported from other states. The majority opinion held that such taxes were unconstitutional because they interfered with interstate commerce and violated the Commerce Clause of the Constitution. However, Justice Field dissented from this decision and argued that Congress had not intended for its power under the Commerce Clause to be so expansive as to prohibit all taxation by individual states on imports from other states. He further stated that if Congress wanted to limit or prevent such taxation it should have done so explicitly in legislation rather than relying upon an interpretation of constitutional provisions which he believed did not support such a conclusion. In his view, allowing each state some control over imports into their jurisdiction would provide them with much needed revenue while still protecting interstate commerce interests through Congressional regulation when necessary.