The U.S. Supreme Court case Empire State Cattle Company v. Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway Company in 1907 revolved around a dispute over the transportation of cattle by rail and the subsequent loss incurred due to death and injury of livestock during transit. The Empire State Cattle Company sued the railway company for damages after it failed to deliver their cattle safely from Illinois to Kansas City, resulting in significant financial losses for the plaintiff. The court ruled that under common law principles, carriers are liable for any damage or loss caused by negligence unless they can prove that they took all necessary precautions against foreseeable risks associated with transporting goods or animals across long distances. In this case, however, there was no evidence presented showing negligence on part of Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway Co., hence absolving them from liability.

The dissenting opinion in the case of Empire State Cattle Company v. Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway Company argued that the majority's decision was incorrect because it failed to properly interpret and apply the Carmack Amendment to this particular case. The dissenting justices believed that under this amendment, a shipper who receives an initial bill of lading is entitled to recover for any damages incurred during transportation from either the initial or delivering carrier. They contended that by ruling otherwise, the majority had effectively nullified a key provision of federal law designed to protect shippers' rights against railroad companies. Furthermore, they disagreed with how much weight was given to certain pieces of evidence presented at trial and felt other factors should have been considered more heavily when determining liability for damages.