The St. Louis v. Rutz case in 1890 revolved around a dispute over the ownership of certain lands within the city limits of St. Louis, Missouri. The Supreme Court was asked to determine whether or not these lands were part of the public domain and therefore subject to preemption laws that allowed individuals to claim unoccupied land for private use, or if they belonged to the city by virtue of its charter from France before it became part of U.S territory through Louisiana Purchase in 1803. The court ruled in favor of St. Louis, stating that when France granted charters for cities like St.Louis, it transferred full property rights including those over vacant lots within their boundaries which remained even after becoming part of United States territory unless explicitly taken away by Congress - which had not happened here. Therefore, despite subsequent claims made under preemption laws by individuals such as defendant Rutz who argued he had acquired title through occupancy and improvements made on one such lot since 1852; these could not supersede prior French grant recognized under Treaty with France (Louisiana Purchase). Thus upholding lower courts' decisions awarding disputed lot's possession back to City.

The dissenting opinion in the case of St. Louis v. Rutz argued that the city's ordinance, which required property owners to pave their sidewalks with a specific type of material (Nicolson pavement), was an unreasonable exercise of police power and violated citizens' rights to use and enjoy their property as they see fit. The justice contended that while cities have the right to regulate for public safety, health, or welfare, this particular regulation did not fall under any such categories but seemed more like an arbitrary decision favoring one type of paving over others without clear justification. Furthermore, it was pointed out that forcing homeowners to bear the cost for this specific kind of pavement could be seen as discriminatory since other types might be cheaper or better suited for certain properties.