In the Wellsville Oil Company v. Miller, Nee Everett et al., 1916 case, the US Supreme Court dealt with a dispute over oil and gas rights in Kansas. The plaintiff, Wellsville Oil Company claimed that it had purchased land from one of the defendants (Miller) who later sold her interest to other parties without informing them about this prior sale. The company sought an injunction against these subsequent sales and asked for recognition of its superior title to the mineral rights on this property. However, both lower courts ruled against them stating that they failed to properly record their purchase which would have given notice to future buyers about their claim. The Supreme Court affirmed these decisions noting that under Kansas law at that time, unrecorded deeds were void as against subsequent purchasers in good faith and for value without notice thereof. Therefore since Wellsville did not record its deed until after Miller's second sale was recorded; those buyers took precedence even though they bought after Wellsville’s initial purchase because they had no way of knowing about it.

The dissenting opinion in the Wellsville Oil Company v. Miller case argued that the majority's decision to uphold a Kansas statute prohibiting corporations from owning farmland was not consistent with previous rulings on similar issues. The dissenting justices believed that this law violated the Fourteenth Amendment, which guarantees equal protection under the law for all citizens, including corporations. They contended that there was no rational basis for distinguishing between individuals and corporations in terms of their ability to own agricultural land, especially given that other types of property ownership were permitted for both entities. Furthermore, they pointed out inconsistencies within state laws themselves - while some states allowed corporate farm ownership others did not - suggesting an arbitrary application of restrictions rather than any inherent danger or harm caused by such ownerships.