The U.S. Supreme Court case, The Infanta Maria Teresa in 1902, revolved around the ownership of a Spanish warship named "Infanta Maria Teresa." During the Spanish-American War in 1898, this ship was damaged and abandoned by its crew off the coast of Cuba. It was subsequently salvaged by American forces who towed it to Norfolk, Virginia for repairs. Afterward, a salvage company claimed possession of the vessel arguing that they had saved it from total loss and thus deserved compensation or ownership rights under maritime law principles known as "salvage rights". However, Spain argued that since they never formally surrendered or relinquished their property rights to the ship during wartime conditions; therefore it still belonged to them despite being captured by American forces. The Supreme Court ruled against Spain stating that when a naval vessel is captured during warfare and then abandoned without any hope or intention of recovery on part of its original owner (Spain), such abandonment constitutes complete surrendering all claims over said property regardless if formal procedures were followed or not. Henceforth making United States rightful owners due to their successful capture and subsequent repair efforts which prevented further damage/loss thereby satisfying requirements needed for claiming salvage rights under international maritime laws.

In the dissenting opinion for The Infanta Maria Teresa case, Justice Harlan argued that the U.S. had no right to salvage a Spanish vessel captured during war and subsequently abandoned in Cuban waters. He contended that international law did not permit one belligerent to claim as prize property of another belligerent which has been destroyed or rendered useless by acts of war, especially when such property was within territorial jurisdiction of a neutral power at the time it was so destroyed or rendered useless. According to him, this principle applied even if the neutral power later became an ally because it would be unjust to allow allies to benefit from each other's destructions after they have agreed upon their alliance. Thus, he believed that once Spain abandoned its ship in Cuba’s harbor due its unseaworthiness caused by American attacks before America took possession over Cuba following Treaty of Paris (1898), America lost any rights under maritime laws for salvage operations on said ship since those rights were never vested with them initially.