In the 1947 case of Silesian-American Corp. et al. v. Clark, Attorney General, as Successor to the Alien Property Custodian, the U.S Supreme Court was tasked with determining whether or not a corporation that had been dissolved under German law could still maintain an action in American courts for recovery of property seized during World War II by the United States government's Office of Alien Property Custodian (OAPC). The OAPC had taken control over certain assets belonging to two corporations - Upper Silesian Coal & Coke Co., and its wholly owned subsidiary, Silesian-American Corporation - on suspicion they were enemy-owned entities. The court ruled against these corporations stating that since they no longer existed legally due to their dissolution under German law prior to filing suit in US courts; hence lacked legal standing necessary for maintaining an action in court.

In the dissenting opinion for Silesian-American Corp. v. Clark, Justice Frankfurter disagreed with the majority's interpretation of the Trading With The Enemy Act and its application to this case. He argued that Congress did not intend for American citizens to be deprived of their property without compensation under this law, which was designed primarily as a wartime measure against enemy aliens. Furthermore, he contended that even if such deprivation were permissible under certain circumstances, it should only occur when there is clear evidence that an individual knowingly acted in a way detrimental to U.S interests or aided an enemy nation during war time - conditions not met in this case according to him. Therefore, he believed that Silesian-American Corporation should have been allowed to recover its seized assets from the government.