In the case of El Paso & Northeastern Railway Company v. Gutierrez, 1909, the U.S Supreme Court ruled in favor of the railway company. The case was brought by Mrs. Gutierrez after her husband died while working for the railroad company due to a boiler explosion on one of their locomotives. She claimed that his death was caused by negligence on part of the railway company and sought damages under New Mexico's employer liability laws which held employers liable for injuries or deaths resulting from defects in machinery or appliances used by employees if they knew about it beforehand but failed to notify them. The court found that there wasn't sufficient evidence proving that Mr.Gutierrez had been unaware of any potential danger associated with operating boilers nor did it prove conclusively whether he had received adequate training regarding its operation and maintenance as required under law at that time. Furthermore, no concrete proof could be provided showing that El Paso & Northeastern Railway Company knowingly allowed defective equipment to be used without notifying its employees about possible risks involved thereby absolving them off any responsibility towards Mr.Gutierrez’s unfortunate demise. Thus, based upon these findings, Mrs.Gutierrez’s claim against El Paso & Northeastern Railway Company was dismissed as she couldn’t establish beyond reasonable doubt their culpability in causing her husband’s death through negligent behavior.

In the dissenting opinion for El Paso & Northeastern Railway Company v. Gutierrez, 1909, Justice Harlan argued that the court majority erred in its interpretation of New Mexico's territorial law regarding wrongful death suits. He contended that under this law, a suit could be brought against an employer if their employee caused a death while acting within the scope of his employment - even if negligence or wrongdoing on part of the employee was not proven. The majority had ruled otherwise; they believed proof of such misconduct was necessary to hold employers liable. Justice Harlan disagreed with this view and maintained that it contradicted established principles governing vicarious liability (where one party is held responsible for another’s actions). Therefore, he believed that Gutierrez should have been allowed to sue El Paso & Northeastern Railway Company over her husband's death without needing to prove any specific negligent act by an individual railway worker.