The Anne, Barnabeu, Claimant was a case heard by the United States Supreme Court in 1818. The claimant argued that he had been wrongfully deprived of his property when it was seized and sold to pay for debts owed by his father-in-law. The court found that the seizure and sale were valid under Spanish law as they were made with due process of law. However, the court also held that since Spain had ceded Florida to the United States in 1819, American laws should apply instead of Spanish ones. As such, they ruled that any debt incurred prior to this date must be paid out from assets acquired after it took effect; thus invalidating the seizure and sale of Anne's property which occurred before then. This ruling established an important precedent regarding how foreign laws are applied within US borders going forward.

The dissenting opinion in the case of The Anne, Barnabeu, Claimant argued that the majority's decision was wrongfully based on a misinterpretation of the law. They asserted that under existing maritime laws and regulations, it was not necessary for a vessel to be "in distress" before its crew could claim salvage rights. Furthermore, they argued that even if there had been no actual danger or peril present at sea when the claimant rescued The Anne from her stranded state, this did not mean that he should be denied his right to compensation for his services rendered. In their view, any reasonable person would have recognized how difficult it must have been to rescue such an old and decrepit vessel as The Anne from her perilous situation; thus deserving some form of remuneration regardless of whether she was actually in distress or not.