In the United States v. Trinidad Coal and Coking Company case of 1890, the U.S Supreme Court ruled in favor of the government, asserting its right to reclaim public lands that had been wrongfully acquired by corporations or individuals. The dispute began when Trinidad Coal and Coking Company claimed ownership over certain parcels of land in Colorado which they argued were rich with coal deposits. However, these claims violated an 1862 law prohibiting companies from acquiring more than one tract of land for mining purposes. The company contended that this law was not applicable as it only applied to "vein or lode" mines rather than coal mines like theirs. Nevertheless, Justice Samuel Blatchford rejected their argument stating that such a distinction did not exist within the context of this legislation; hence all types of mineral resources including coal were covered under it.

The dissenting opinion in the case of United States v. Trinidad Coal and Coking Company argued that the majority's decision to uphold a lower court ruling, which found in favor of the defendant company, was incorrect. The dissent contended that Congress had intended for public lands containing coal deposits to be used for homesteading and not commercial mining operations when it passed relevant legislation. Therefore, they believed that land patents issued by the government to companies like Trinidad were invalid if their primary purpose was extracting coal rather than establishing homes or farms. They also disagreed with how previous legal precedents were interpreted by the majority and felt these cases supported their view instead.