Gibbons v. Ogden

Ogden (plaintiff) held a New York state license purporting to grant him an exclusive right to operate steamboats in New York waters, while Gibbons (defendant) obtained a competing federal license and operated boats on the same route; Ogden sued in New York's Court of Chancery to enjoin Gibbons, and New York's courts sided with Ogden, rejecting Gibbons's argument that Congress's exclusive Commerce Clause authority over interstate commerce preempted the state monopoly. Gibbons appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.