In Thompson Willson and Others, Plaintiffs in Error vs. The Black Bird Creek Marsh Company, Defendants, the Supreme Court of the United States heard a case involving land disputes between two parties. The plaintiffs argued that they had been granted rights to certain lands by an act of assembly from Maryland in 1792 and that those rights were infringed upon when the defendant company began draining marshlands on their property without permission or compensation. In response, the defendants claimed that they had purchased these lands with full knowledge of its state prior to any drainage activities taking place and thus did not owe anything for damages caused by said activities. After hearing both sides’ arguments, the court ultimately ruled in favor of the plaintiff's original claim; finding them entitled to compensation for damages done as well as other costs associated with reclaiming their land back into its original condition before it was drained by defendants' actions.

In the case of Thompson Willson and Others v. The Black Bird Creek Marsh Company, the dissenting opinion argued that Congress had no authority to pass a law which would grant ownership of land in navigable waters to individuals or companies. This was because such lands were considered public property, owned by all citizens equally and subject only to regulation by state governments. Furthermore, it was argued that if Congress could grant such rights then they could also take them away at any time without due process or compensation for those affected. Finally, it was suggested that this action would set a dangerous precedent as it would allow private interests to control access and use of these resources with little oversight from either federal or state authorities.