In the 1979 case American Export Lines, Inc. v. Alvez et al., the U.S Supreme Court ruled in favor of a wife's right to recover damages for loss of society due to her husband's nonfatal injuries sustained at sea under maritime law. The plaintiff, Mrs. Alvez, sought compensation after her husband was injured while working on a ship owned by American Export Lines and became permanently disabled as a result. While lower courts had previously denied such claims unless death resulted from the injury, this ruling expanded recovery rights under maritime law for nonfatal injuries that significantly alter an individual’s life and relationships with their spouse or family members.

In the dissenting opinion for American Export Lines, Inc. v. Alvez et al., Justice Rehnquist disagreed with the majority's decision to allow recovery for loss of society in a maritime wrongful death action under general maritime law. He argued that this was an unwarranted expansion of damages and went beyond what Congress had intended when it enacted statutes governing such cases. The justice believed that there should be a clear distinction between pecuniary losses, which are quantifiable financial burdens caused by the victim’s death, and non-pecuniary losses like loss of society or companionship, which are more subjective and harder to quantify accurately. Furthermore, he expressed concern about potential inconsistencies in future rulings due to lack of guidelines on how courts should calculate these types of damages.