The U.S. Supreme Court case Texaco, Inc., et al. v. Short et al., 1981 revolved around the Indiana Dormant Mineral Act which allowed mineral interests to lapse if not used for a period of 20 years, unless a statement of claim was filed with the county recorder within two years after the passage of this act. The respondents owned surface rights and claimed that under this law they had acquired dormant oil and gas interests from Texaco who failed to file such statements in time. In contrast, Texaco argued that it wasn't given proper notice about filing requirements and thus its due process rights were violated by retroactive application of state legislation causing forfeiture without compensation. However, the court upheld Indiana's statute stating it didn’t violate any constitutional provisions including due process or constitute an unconstitutional taking without just compensation as per Fifth Amendment because owners were provided sufficient opportunity to protect their property interest by filing claims.

In the dissenting opinion for Texaco, Inc. v. Short et al., Justice Brennan argued that the Indiana Dormant Mineral Interests Act violated due process rights by allowing mineral interests to be extinguished without sufficient notice or opportunity to prevent it. He believed that the law unfairly burdened owners of dormant mineral interests and was not narrowly tailored enough to serve its intended purpose of encouraging development of unused minerals. Furthermore, he contended that there were less drastic means available for achieving this goal such as a tax on dormant interests or a use-it-or-lose-it policy with proper notification procedures in place.