In the case of Simms v. Simms in 1899, the U.S Supreme Court was tasked with deciding on a dispute over property rights following a divorce. The couple involved had been married in Washington D.C., but later moved to California where they acquired several properties together. After their separation, Mrs. Simms returned to Washington and filed for divorce there, which did not recognize community property laws like California did at that time. Mr. Simms argued that because they were residents of California when acquiring these properties and during most of their marriage, those state's community property laws should apply instead. The court ruled against him stating that the jurisdiction where the divorce is granted has authority over how marital assets are divided regardless of where those assets were obtained or what other states' laws might say about it - essentially upholding Mrs. Sims' right to claim more than half of their shared properties under District law rather than being limited by Californian law as her ex-husband wanted.

The dissenting opinion in the case of Simms v. Simms, 1899, argued that the majority's decision to grant a divorce and award custody of the children to Mrs. Simms was incorrect based on both legal precedent and moral grounds. The dissenting justices believed that Mr. Simms' adultery did not constitute sufficient grounds for divorce under existing law because it had been condoned by Mrs. Simms when she continued living with him after learning about his infidelity years prior to filing for divorce. They also disagreed with granting her full custody of their children, arguing that this would deprive them of contact with their father who they felt still had a role to play in their upbringing despite his marital misconducts.