In the 1931 case of Rude v. Buchhalter, the United States Supreme Court ruled on a dispute involving property rights and inheritance laws. The plaintiff, Mrs. Rude, was seeking to recover her share of an estate left by her deceased husband who had previously been married and divorced before marrying Mrs. Rude. The defendant in this case was Mr. Buchhalter, the executor of the deceased's will from his first marriage which did not include any provisions for Mrs.Rude as it was written prior to their marriage. The main issue at hand revolved around whether or not a divorce decree could effectively sever all financial ties between former spouses when it comes to inheritance law - essentially questioning if a previous spouse has any claim over assets acquired after their separation. The court ultimately decided in favor of Mrs.Rude stating that she is entitled to inherit under state law despite being omitted from her late husband’s will because they were legally married at time of death regardless of his previous marital status.

The dissenting opinion in the case of Rude v. Buchhalter argued that the majority's decision to uphold a lower court ruling, which allowed for the seizure and sale of property owned by a debtor who had declared bankruptcy, was incorrect. The dissenting justices believed this violated the Bankruptcy Act's provision prohibiting such seizures if they would result in hardship or destitution for the debtor. They contended that allowing creditors to seize all assets without regard for their necessity to basic living conditions contradicted both legislative intent and previous judicial interpretations of bankruptcy law. Furthermore, they expressed concern about potential abuse by creditors seeking repayment at any cost and emphasized on maintaining balance between creditor rights and protections against undue hardship for debtors.