In the 1904 case of Scott v. Carew, the United States Supreme Court dealt with a dispute over land ownership in South Carolina. The plaintiff, Scott, claimed that he had purchased a tract of land from one party who had acquired it through tax sale. However, the defendant, Carew and others argued that they were rightful owners as they inherited it from their father's estate. The lower court ruled in favor of Carew on grounds that there was no evidence to prove any irregularity or fraudulence in assessment or levy for taxes due to which property was sold initially at tax sale; hence making its purchase by Scott invalid. The Supreme Court upheld this decision stating that while there may have been errors made during initial tax sales process but those could not be used as basis for challenging validity of subsequent transactions unless clear proof is provided about such mistakes leading to unfairness or injustice against original owner (Carews' father). Thus confirming Carews' claim over disputed property.

The dissenting opinion in Scott v. Carew argued that the majority's decision was inconsistent with previous rulings and legal principles regarding property rights. The dissenting justices believed that the plaintiff, who had purchased land from a tax collector after it was seized for unpaid taxes, should not have been able to claim ownership of the property because he did not follow proper procedure when acquiring it. They maintained that under South Carolina law at the time, a purchaser of such land must give notice to all interested parties before they can rightfully claim ownership. In this case, no such notice was given by Scott before he bought the property from Carew. Therefore, according to these justices' interpretation of state law and precedent cases on similar matters, Scott's purchase should be considered invalid and his lawsuit against Carew dismissed.