The Supreme Court case United States v. Ohio Oil Company, also known as The Pipe Line Cases in 1913, revolved around the issue of whether or not the federal government had jurisdiction over oil pipelines that crossed state lines. The Ohio Oil Company argued that it was a matter for individual states to regulate and control. However, the U.S Government contended that since these pipelines were involved in interstate commerce, they fell under its purview according to the Commerce Clause of the Constitution. Ultimately, this landmark decision by the Supreme Court ruled in favor of federal authority over such matters and established an important precedent regarding regulation of industries engaged in interstate commerce.

In the dissenting opinion for United States v. Ohio Oil Company, it was argued that the government should have authority to regulate oil drilling on public lands in order to prevent waste and protect property rights of adjacent landowners. The dissenters believed that unregulated drilling could lead to a "tragedy of the commons" scenario where individual companies acting in their own self-interest would deplete shared resources, leaving none for others. They also contended that allowing one company to drain oil from beneath another's land without compensation constituted an unlawful taking under the Fifth Amendment. Therefore, they disagreed with majority’s decision which held that Congress had not granted such regulatory power over oil extraction on public lands.