In the 1891 case of Coghlan v. South Carolina Railroad Company, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of the railroad company. The plaintiff, Coghlan, had purchased a ticket from Charleston to New York via steamship but was denied passage because he did not have a health certificate required by New York's quarantine laws due to an ongoing yellow fever epidemic in Charleston at that time. He sued for breach of contract and won at trial court level; however, on appeal it was found that there was no breach as his ticket contained explicit language stating its subjectivity to all rules and regulations imposed by law or otherwise affecting transportation companies including quarantine restrictions which were beyond control of defendant (railroad company). Therefore, since these conditions were clearly stated on his ticket when he bought it and they could not be fulfilled due to circumstances beyond their control (quarantine laws), the railroad company wasn't liable for any damages.

In the dissenting opinion for Coghlan v. South Carolina Railroad Company, it was argued that the majority's decision failed to properly consider the rights of both parties involved in this case. The dissenting justices believed that there were significant issues with how evidence was handled during trial and felt that these errors could have potentially influenced its outcome. They also disagreed with the majority's interpretation of certain legal principles related to contract law and damages, arguing instead for a more traditional approach based on established precedent. Furthermore, they expressed concerns about potential implications of this ruling on future cases involving similar circumstances or disputes between railroad companies and their customers or employees.