This Supreme Court case involved Thomas C. Rockhill, Wade T. Smith, and William P. Rockhill (plaintiffs) suing Robert Hanna, Asa B. Strong, Edward Heizer, Aaron Aldridge, Robert B. Hanna David Shields Thomas Johnson Jeremiah Johnson and George Bruce (defendants). The plaintiffs sought to recover damages for the defendants’ alleged trespass on their land in Missouri by cutting down trees without permission or legal authority from the state of Missouri or any other person having a right to grant such permission or authority at that time. The court ruled in favor of the plaintiffs and awarded them $2 per tree cut down as compensation for their losses due to this illegal activity by the defendants on their property without proper authorization from either themselves or anyone else with a valid claim over it at that time

In the dissenting opinion of Thomas C. Rockhill, Wade T. Smith, and William P. Rockhill v Robert Hanna et al., Justice McLean argued that the plaintiffs had failed to prove their case for title to a tract of land in Missouri by clear and satisfactory evidence as required by law. He further stated that even if they had done so, it would be impossible for them to recover because the defendants were protected under an act passed by Congress which granted pre-emption rights on certain lands in Missouri including this particular tract at issue here. Furthermore, he noted that since these pre-emption rights were given before any claim was made or established against them by either party involved in this suit then those rights could not be taken away from them without due process of law being followed first - something which did not happen here according to him. Finally, he concluded his dissent with a statement saying “I am therefore constrained to hold that no right has been acquired under the laws of Missouri; nor can any such right be enforced against these defendants” thus denying relief for the plaintiffs who brought forth this action seeking title over said property