In the case of Richardson, Trustee in Bankruptcy v. Shaw (1907), the United States Supreme Court dealt with a dispute over property rights and bankruptcy law. The trustee for a bankrupt estate, Richardson, sued to recover money that had been paid out by the debtor prior to declaring bankruptcy. This payment was made to Shaw on account of an antecedent debt owed by him at a time when he was insolvent and unable to pay his debts as they matured without aid from loans or similar accommodations. The court ruled in favor of Richardson stating that such payments were preferential transfers under section 60b of the Bankruptcy Act which could be recovered if made within four months before filing for bankruptcy while being insolvent. Therefore, it held that these funds should have been part of the bankrupt's estate available for distribution among all creditors rather than benefiting one creditor over others.

In the dissenting opinion for Richardson, Trustee in Bankruptcy v. Shaw, Justice Harlan disagreed with the majority's interpretation of bankruptcy law and its application to this case. He argued that a debtor should not be allowed to prefer one creditor over another by transferring property before declaring bankruptcy. In his view, such transfers were fraudulent under common law principles and should be voided by the court. Furthermore, he believed that allowing these types of transactions would undermine public confidence in the fairness of bankruptcy proceedings and could potentially encourage collusion between debtors and creditors at the expense of other parties involved in a bankruptcy case.