The Nereid was a case heard before the United States Supreme Court in 1816. At issue was whether Pinto, the claimant, had a valid claim to ownership of the ship known as The Nereid. Pinto argued that he had purchased and registered The Nereid from its previous owner in France prior to it being seized by American authorities during an armed conflict between Britain and America. However, the government contended that since no proof of purchase could be produced at trial, they were entitled to keep possession of The Nereid under admiralty law due to their right of capture during wartime. Ultimately, after much deliberation over conflicting evidence presented by both parties regarding title and registration documents for The Nereid, the court found in favor of Pinto's claim based on his testimony alone which established sufficient proof that he owned said vessel prior to its seizure by American forces.

In The Nereid, the Supreme Court was asked to decide whether a ship captured by France during the Napoleonic Wars should be returned to its original owner. In a dissenting opinion, Justice Story argued that while it is true that under international law and treaties between nations, ships taken in war must be restored upon peace being declared, this case was different because of the particular circumstances surrounding it. He noted that when France took possession of the vessel in question (the Nereid), they had already been at war with Great Britain for some time and thus were not acting unlawfully or contrary to any treaty obligations. Furthermore, he argued that since there had been no formal declaration of peace between these two countries prior to France taking possession of the vessel in question - which would have triggered an obligation on their part to restore it - then they could not now be held liable for failing to do so. As such, Justice Story concluded his dissent by stating that even though international law may require restitution under certain conditions and treaties may provide additional protections against seizure or confiscation during wartime; neither applied here as there was no formal declaration of peace before France took control over The Nereid.