The State of Pennsylvania brought a case against the Wheeling and Belmont Bridge Company, William Ottersan, and George Croft. The state argued that the bridge company had built a toll bridge over the Ohio River without obtaining permission from Congress or any other authority. Furthermore, they claimed that this unauthorized construction was an obstruction to navigation on the river. The defendants countered by arguing that their bridge did not impede navigation in any way and thus did not require authorization from Congress or anyone else. After considering both sides' arguments, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Pennsylvania stating that bridges must be authorized before being constructed as they can obstruct navigable waters if done improperly.

In the dissenting opinion of this case, Justice Daniel wrote that Congress had exclusive authority to regulate commerce between states and thus could not be interfered with by a state. He argued that Pennsylvania was attempting to exercise control over an interstate bridge in order to protect its own interests, which would interfere with the power of Congress. Furthermore, he stated that if each state were allowed to do so it would lead to chaos and confusion as no one would know what regulations applied where. Finally, Justice Daniel concluded that while Pennsylvania may have been justified in wanting some regulation on the bridge due to safety concerns for its citizens, such regulation should come from Congress rather than from individual states.