The Powhatan Steamboat Company brought a case against the Appomattox Railroad Company to the Supreme Court. The dispute was over whether or not the steamboat company had exclusive rights to transport passengers and freight between two points on navigable waters in Virginia. The railroad argued that they should be allowed to compete with the steamboat company, while the latter argued that their contract gave them exclusive rights for transportation of goods and people between those two points. After hearing both sides’ arguments, it was determined by a majority vote of five justices that there were no legal grounds for granting an injunction against competition from railroads as requested by Powhatan Steamboat Company; therefore, their request for relief was denied. This ruling established precedent regarding state laws concerning navigation on public waterways in regards to competing modes of transportation such as boats and trains.

In the case of The Powhatan Steamboat Company v. The Appomattox Railroad Company, Justice Nelson delivered a dissenting opinion in which he argued that the Court should have found for the plaintiff on their claim against the defendant railroad company. He asserted that under Virginia law, when a contract is made between two parties and one party fails to fulfill its obligations as agreed upon by both sides, then they are liable for damages caused by such breach of contract. In this particular case, he believed that since it was established beyond doubt that there had been an agreement between both companies regarding freight rates and other matters related to shipping goods over land or water routes owned by either side; yet despite this agreement being violated multiple times without any consequence from either side until now - when only one party was held accountable - it would be unjust not to award damages due to such violation of contract terms. Therefore, Justice Nelson concluded his dissent with a call for justice in awarding damages due to breach of contract as per Virginia state laws applicable at the time.