The Ship Marcellus case was a dispute between two parties, Baxter, the claimant and Camp, the libellant. The Supreme Court of the United States heard this case in 1861. At issue was whether or not Baxter had legal title to a ship called “Marcellus” that he purchased from an auctioneer who held it as security for debt owed by its former owner. The court found that although there were some irregularities with regard to how Baxter acquired possession of the vessel, his purchase at public sale gave him sufficient title under maritime law so long as no third party could prove superior rights to it. Furthermore, they ruled that any claims against ownership must be brought within one year after delivery of possession; otherwise they are barred by limitation statutes. Ultimately, the court concluded that since Camp failed to bring suit within one year after delivery of possession and did not present evidence proving superior rights over those claimed by Baxter then his claim should be dismissed without prejudice

In the case of The Ship Marcellus -- Baxter, Claimant; Camp, Libellant, the dissenting opinion was that a vessel should not be forfeited for an illegal act committed by its master if it can be proven that the owner had no knowledge or involvement in said act. In this particular case, there was evidence to suggest that while the ship's master may have been guilty of smuggling goods into a port without paying duties on them as required by law, he did so without any prior knowledge from or direction given by his employer. Therefore it would be unjust to forfeit ownership of such a valuable asset when there is proof showing that its owner had nothing to do with what transpired and could not have reasonably known about it beforehand.