Bell & Others v. First National Bank of Chicago is a United States Supreme Court case that was decided in 1895. The case involved a dispute between the First National Bank of Chicago and the Bells, a family of creditors. The Bells had loaned money to the bank and had taken a security interest in the bank's assets. When the bank went into receivership, the Bells sought to enforce their security interest. The Supreme Court held that the Bells' security interest was valid and enforceable. The Court reasoned that the Bells had taken reasonable steps to protect their interest in the bank's assets, and that the bank had not taken any steps to invalidate the security interest. The Court also held that the Bells had a right to be paid from the proceeds of the bank's assets before any other creditors. The decision in Bell & Others v. First National Bank of Chicago established the principle that creditors who take a security interest in a debtor's assets have a right to be paid from the proceeds of those assets before any other creditors. This principle has been applied in numerous cases since then, and is an important part of the law of secured transactions.

In Bell & Others v. First National Bank of Chicago, the Supreme Court was asked to decide whether a bank could be held liable for negligence in failing to pay out funds on behalf of its customers. The majority opinion found that the bank had no duty to protect its customers from their own negligence and thus could not be held liable for any losses incurred by them as a result. Justice Field dissented, arguing that banks should have some responsibility when it comes to protecting their customers' money and interests. He argued that banks are expected by society to exercise reasonable care in handling customer deposits and transactions, so they should also bear some responsibility if those duties are neglected or breached. Furthermore, he asserted that since banks benefit financially from such transactions, they ought not escape liability simply because the customer was negligent or careless with his/her finances.