The Neustra Senora de La Caridad case involved a dispute between the Spanish and American governments over ownership of a shipwrecked vessel. The claimants, Bages et al., argued that they were entitled to salvage rights for recovering the cargo from the sunken vessel. The Supreme Court held that since Spain had not ceded its claim to Florida at the time of recovery, it was still considered Spanish territory and therefore subject to Spanish law. As such, any salvage rights would have been granted by Spain rather than by U.S courts or laws. Ultimately, the court ruled in favor of Spain's right to control all property within its borders and denied Bages et al.'s claims for salvage rights on this basis.

In the case of The Neustra Senora de La Caridad - Bages et al. Claimants, the dissenting opinion was that Congress had no authority to pass a law which would grant compensation for property taken by Spain prior to cession of Florida in 1819. Justice Story argued that such an act violated Article I Section 10 Clause 1 of the Constitution, which states "No State shall…pass any Bill of Attainder, ex post facto Law." He further stated that even if it were within Congress' power to pass such a law, they could not do so without violating international obligations and treaties between Spain and America. Furthermore, he argued that granting compensation for property taken before cession would be unfair as it would benefit some claimants more than others based on when their claims arose. In conclusion Justice Story believed this bill should have been struck down as unconstitutional because it exceeded Congressional authority and violated both domestic laws and international agreements.