In the United States Supreme Court case of The United States, Appellants v. Don Fernando de la Maza Arredondo and Others, Appellees, the court was tasked with determining whether a Spanish land grant in Florida was valid under American law. At issue were two conflicting claims to a tract of land near St. Augustine: one from Spain and another from an individual named Zephaniah Kingsley who had purchased it from slaves he owned at the time. The court found that while Kingsley's claim could not be recognized as valid due to his status as slave owner at the time of purchase, Arredondo's claim based on a Spanish royal grant should be upheld since it predated any other claims by more than 20 years and thus held priority over all others according to established legal principles. Ultimately, this ruling set an important precedent for how foreign grants would be treated under American law going forward; namely that they must meet certain criteria in order to remain legally binding even after changes in sovereignty or ownership occur within their respective territories

In the United States v. Don Fernando de la Maza Arredondo and Others, Appellees, the Supreme Court was tasked with deciding whether a Spanish grant of land in Florida to Don Fernando de la Maza Arredondo should be recognized by the United States government. The majority opinion held that it should not because Spain had no authority to make such grants after ceding Florida to the US in 1819. However, Justice Story dissented from this view on two grounds: firstly, he argued that there was evidence showing Spain did have some authority over certain lands within its former territories even after their cession; secondly, he maintained that if Congress intended for all Spanish grants made before or during its occupation of Florida to be invalidated then they would have explicitly stated so when admitting Florida as a state into the Union. As such, Justice Story concluded that Don Fernando's claim ought to be respected and his title confirmed by law.