The Wyandotte County Gas Company v. State of Kansas case in 1913 revolved around the issue of whether a state could regulate gas prices for private companies. The Public Utilities Commission of Kansas had set rates that the Wyandotte County Gas Company was required to charge its customers, which the company argued was an infringement on their rights as a private corporation and amounted to property confiscation without due process. However, the U.S Supreme Court ruled against them, upholding that states have inherent power to regulate utilities serving public needs within their jurisdiction under police powers granted by the Constitution. This decision reinforced states' authority over local utility pricing and regulation.

The dissenting opinion in the case of Wyandotte County Gas Company v. State of Kansas argued that the state had overstepped its bounds by interfering with a private contract between a gas company and its customers. The justice believed that while states have the power to regulate public utilities, they should not be able to dictate terms of contracts or set prices arbitrarily without due process. They contended that this was an infringement on property rights protected under the Fourteenth Amendment, which prohibits any state from depriving "any person of life, liberty, or property without due process." This decision could potentially discourage businesses from operating within such regulatory constraints and ultimately harm consumers by limiting competition and choice in utility providers.