The U.S. Supreme Court case Webb's Fabulous Pharmacies, Inc., et al. v. Beckwith, Clerk of the Circuit Court of Seminole County, et al., 1980 revolved around a dispute over whether certain fees collected by a county clerk in Florida constituted an unconstitutional taking under the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution. The court ruled unanimously that they did constitute such a taking. Webb’s Fabulous Pharmacies had paid for all administrative costs associated with selling its business as part of bankruptcy proceedings but was also required to pay additional sums based on the value of property sold during those proceedings (a percentage fee). The company argued this amounted to an unlawful seizure or "taking" because it was forced to give up money without receiving any specific service in return. In their decision, the justices agreed with Webb's argument stating that while government entities can charge reasonable fees for services provided, they cannot simply take money from individuals or businesses without providing some sort of direct benefit or compensation in return.

In the dissenting opinion for Webb's Fabulous Pharmacies, Inc. v. Beckwith, Justice Powell argued that Florida law did not violate the Fifth Amendment's Takings Clause because it allowed Seminole County to keep interest earned on interpleader funds deposited in its registry during litigation. He contended that this was a reasonable fee for providing safekeeping and disbursement services rather than an unconstitutional taking of private property without just compensation. According to him, the majority failed to distinguish between public use and public purpose - while earning interest may not be a traditional function of courts, it served a legitimate public purpose by helping fund court operations without burdening taxpayers excessively. Furthermore, he noted that Webb voluntarily chose to deposit money into the court registry instead of posting bond or using another method; thus they implicitly agreed to let Seminole County earn interest on these funds as part of their service fee.