In the case of Burfenning v. Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis and Omaha Railway Company in 1895, the U.S Supreme Court ruled on a dispute involving railway freight charges. The plaintiff, Burfenning had shipped goods via the defendant's railway line and was charged based on an agreed rate per hundred pounds for each shipment made. However, he later discovered that another customer was given a lower rate for shipping similar goods over the same distance during roughly the same period of time as his shipments were made. Burfenning sued to recover what he believed were excessive charges under section 3 of Interstate Commerce Act which prohibits unjust discrimination in rates by railroads engaged in interstate commerce. The court held that there must be proof not only that another shipper received more favorable rates but also that such preference resulted in some disadvantage or injury to complainant before it can be deemed unlawful discrimination under said act. The court found no evidence showing any harm suffered by Burfenning due to this alleged discriminatory practice; hence his claim failed and judgment was entered for defendant railroad company.

The dissenting opinion in the case of Burfenning v. Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis and Omaha Railway Company argued that the majority's decision was inconsistent with established principles of law regarding negligence and liability. The dissent contended that it should not be necessary for a plaintiff to prove specific acts of negligence on the part of a defendant if they can show that an injury occurred under circumstances which ordinarily would not happen without negligence. They believed this principle applied in this case where a railway employee was injured while working on tracks maintained by his employer, even though he could not identify any particular negligent act or omission by his employer leading to his injury. The dissent also disagreed with the majority's interpretation of relevant state laws concerning employers' obligations towards their employees' safety at work.