The William King -- Davis et al. Claimants was a case heard by the United States Supreme Court in 1817. The claimants were heirs of William King, who had been granted land in Virginia by the state's legislature prior to his death. After his death, however, the legislature passed an act that revoked all grants made after 1779 and before 1784 unless they had been approved by certain officers of government or confirmed by a court of law. The claimants argued that their grant should be considered valid because it was issued prior to 1779 and thus not subject to revocation under this new act; however, the Supreme Court disagreed and held that since no action had been taken on behalf of Mr. King during his lifetime to secure confirmation from either government officials or courts as required under the new act, then he could not pass any title onto them upon his death which would be binding against subsequent purchasers for value without notice of their claim. As such, they were unable to recover possession over their lands from those who purchased them with good faith reliance on clear title being conveyed through legal means established at common law

In the dissenting opinion of The William King -- Davis et al. Claimants, Chief Justice John Marshall argued that the Court should not have dismissed the case without a hearing on its merits. He noted that while it was true that Congress had passed an act to extinguish all claims against certain lands in Georgia, this did not necessarily mean that these claimants were barred from bringing their suit before the court. Instead, he argued they should be allowed to present evidence and make arguments as to why their claim should still stand despite Congressional action. Furthermore, he pointed out that if there was any ambiguity or uncertainty about whether or not Congress intended for these particular claimants' rights to be extinguished by its legislation then it would be up to a jury - rather than simply dismissing them outright -to decide how best interpret and apply those laws in order for justice to prevail.