In the case of Rainey v. W.R. Grace & Company, 1913, the United States Supreme Court dealt with a dispute over property rights and land use in South Carolina. The plaintiff, Rainey, owned an island that was used for phosphate mining by W.R. Grace & Co under a lease agreement from previous owners dating back to 1870s which did not specify any termination date but required annual rent payments and royalties on mined phosphates. When Rainey acquired the island in 1908 he sought to terminate this lease arguing it was perpetual and therefore invalid under South Carolina law which prohibited such agreements lasting more than ninety-nine years. The defendant argued that their right to mine phosphates had become absolute due to long usage without challenge or objection (a legal principle known as prescription). However, the court ruled against them stating that prescription could not apply since they were operating under a valid contract (the lease) rather than unlawfully occupying or using another's property. Therefore, while acknowledging some ambiguity in state laws regarding perpetual leases at that time period - particularly when involving mineral rights - the court upheld Rainey’s claim terminating W.R.Grace & Co's mining operations on his property.

The dissenting opinion in the Rainey v. W.R. Grace & Company case argued that the majority's decision to uphold a lower court ruling, which dismissed a suit brought by shareholders against company directors for alleged mismanagement and fraud, was incorrect. The dissenting justices believed that there were sufficient allegations of wrongdoing on part of the directors to warrant further investigation through trial proceedings. They contended that dismissing such serious charges without allowing them to be fully explored in court undermined shareholder rights and could potentially enable corporate malfeasance if left unchecked. Furthermore, they disagreed with the majority's interpretation of relevant laws and precedents related to director liability and shareholder suits.