In the Ritchie v. McMullen case of 1894, the U.S Supreme Court ruled on a dispute over land ownership in California. The plaintiff, Ritchie, claimed that he had purchased the land from an individual who had obtained it through preemption rights under federal law. However, McMullen contested this claim and argued that he was entitled to the property because his predecessor-in-interest had received a Mexican grant for it before California became part of the United States. The court held that although there were irregularities in how Ritchie's predecessor-in-interest acquired title to the property via preemption rights (including not living on or improving upon it as required by law), these issues could have been addressed at any time within two years after patent issuance but weren't challenged until much later by McMullen’s predecessors-in-interests which made their claims invalid due to laches (a legal principle barring those who take too long asserting a legal right). Therefore, despite these irregularities with initial acquisition process under preemption laws, since no timely challenge was raised against them and they were recognized by government officials during patent issuance; they did not invalidate subsequent transfers of title including one to Ritchie.

The dissenting opinion in the case of Ritchie v. McMullen argued that the majority's decision to uphold a lower court ruling, which allowed for a change in property ownership based on an alleged verbal agreement, was flawed. The dissenting justices believed that there was insufficient evidence to support such an agreement and therefore it should not have been considered legally binding. They further contended that even if such an agreement did exist, it would be unenforceable under the Statute of Frauds because it involved real estate transactions and was not put into writing or signed by both parties involved. Therefore, they felt that the original owner should retain possession of his property since he never formally agreed to transfer ownership rights.