In the 1903 case of Scheffe v. St. Louis, the U.S Supreme Court ruled on a dispute involving property rights and taxation. The plaintiff, Scheffe, owned land in St. Louis that was subject to special tax assessments for public improvements such as street paving and sewer construction under Missouri law. However, he argued that these taxes were unconstitutional because they exceeded the benefits his property received from those improvements - violating his right to due process under the Fourteenth Amendment. The court disagreed with Scheffe's argument stating that it is not within its jurisdiction to assess whether or not a local improvement increases value of properties proportionate to their assessed costs unless there is clear evidence of fraud or corruption by local authorities which wasn't present in this case. The ruling affirmed states' broad powers over taxation matters and reinforced precedent limiting federal judicial oversight over state tax decisions unless there are significant constitutional issues at stake.

The dissenting opinion in the case of Scheffe v. St. Louis argued that the city's decision to condemn and appropriate a portion of Scheffe's land for public use was unconstitutional, as it violated his rights under the Fourteenth Amendment. The justice contended that while cities have a right to exercise eminent domain for public purposes, this power should not be used arbitrarily or capriciously. In this particular case, he believed there was no compelling reason why St. Louis could not have adjusted its plans to avoid infringing on Scheffe’s property rights since only part of his land was needed for street improvement project and other alternatives were available which would cause less harm to private property owners' interests without compromising public benefit.