In the 1926 case of Waggoner Estate et al. v. Wichita County et al., the U.S Supreme Court dealt with a dispute over oil and gas rights on public school lands in Texas. The Waggoner Estate, along with other plaintiffs, argued that an act passed by the Texas legislature in 1895 granting these rights to counties was unconstitutional because it violated both state and federal constitutions' contract clause protections by impairing their existing leases. However, the court ruled against them stating that there had been no contractual obligation between them and the State when they acquired their leasehold interests as those were subject to legislative control under state law at all times. Therefore, subsequent legislation could alter or even abolish such interests without violating any constitutional provisions.

In the dissenting opinion for Waggoner Estate et al. v. Wichita County et al., it was argued that the majority's decision to uphold a tax assessment on oil and gas reserves, despite their inaccessibility at the time of taxation, contradicted established principles of property law and taxation. The dissenting justices contended that because these resources were not accessible or usable by the owner at the time they were taxed, they should not have been considered part of his taxable estate. They further argued that this interpretation could lead to unfair results where an individual is taxed on potential wealth rather than actual wealth - a concept inconsistent with traditional notions of property rights and fairness in taxation.