The Souffront, Widow of Fleurian v. La Compagnie des Sucreries de Porto Rico case in 1909 involved a dispute over land ownership in Puerto Rico. The plaintiff, Mrs. Souffront (widow of Mr. Fleurian), claimed that she had inherited the property from her late husband and accused the defendant company of unlawfully occupying it for sugar cultivation without any valid title or right to do so. However, the defendant argued that they were rightful owners based on a Spanish Royal Order issued in 1880 which granted them possession rights after fulfilling certain conditions such as developing uncultivated lands within five years - an obligation they asserted to have met by establishing their sugar plantation thereon. The U.S Supreme Court ruled against Mrs. Souffront's claim stating that although her husband was initially given provisional permission to use this public land back in 1875 under Spanish rule, he failed to fulfill his obligations including paying taxes and cultivating at least one-third portion within three years as required by law then; hence forfeiting his rights thereto. Furthermore, since Puerto Rican laws continued being effective post-U.S acquisition unless expressly annulled or modified by Congress (as per Foraker Act), these same regulations applied here too thereby validating the Company’s claims who had complied with all stipulated requirements unlike Mr.Fleurian.

In the dissenting opinion for Souffront, Widow of Fleurian v. La Compagnie des Sucreries de Porto Rico, it was argued that the majority's decision to uphold a lower court ruling in favor of La Compagnie des Sucreries de Porto Rico was incorrect. The dissenting justices believed that Mrs. Souffront should have been allowed to pursue her claim against the company for damages resulting from her husband's death on their property due to an accident involving machinery owned and operated by them. They contended that there were sufficient grounds for negligence on part of the company as they failed to provide safe working conditions which led directly to Mr. Fleurian’s fatal accident while he was performing his duties at work.