In the 1905 case of Tampa Water Works Company v. Tampa, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of the city of Tampa, Florida. The dispute arose when the city decided to construct its own waterworks system after a contract with a private company (Tampa Water Works) expired and was not renewed due to disagreements over terms. The private company argued that this action violated their exclusive right to supply water within certain limits for thirty years under an 1888 state law charter they held, even though no such exclusivity clause existed in their contract with the city itself. The court found that while charters can grant companies specific rights or privileges, these cannot infrive upon public authorities' inherent powers unless explicitly stated by legislation - which it wasn't in this case. Therefore, as long as there was no explicit prohibition against it from legislature and given that there were no contractual obligations preventing them from doing so either; cities retained their fundamental right to establish public utilities like water systems for themselves if they deemed necessary.

In the dissenting opinion for Tampa Water Works Company v. Tampa, it was argued that the city of Tampa did not have a right to take over and operate the waterworks without compensating its owners. The justice believed that this action violated constitutional protections against taking private property for public use without just compensation. He contended that while municipalities may have certain rights in relation to public utilities, these do not extend to outright seizure of privately owned infrastructure without due process or fair remuneration. This view held that such actions undermine principles of private ownership and could set a dangerous precedent if allowed to stand unchallenged.