In the case of Flint and Pere Marquette Railroad Company v. United States, the Supreme Court was asked to decide whether the United States was liable for damages caused by the construction of a railroad. The railroad company had been granted a right-of-way by the United States to construct a railroad, but the construction of the railroad caused damage to the company's property. The company argued that the United States was liable for the damages, while the United States argued that it was not liable. The Supreme Court held that the United States was liable for the damages caused by the construction of the railroad. The Court reasoned that the United States had granted the right-of-way to the railroad company, and that the company had relied on the right-of-way in constructing the railroad. The Court further reasoned that the United States had a duty to ensure that the construction of the railroad did not cause damage to the company's property, and that the United States had failed to fulfill this duty. As a result, the Court held that the United States was liable for the damages caused by the construction of the railroad.

In Flint and Pere Marquette Railroad Company v. United States, the Supreme Court was asked to decide whether a railroad company could be held liable for damages caused by its negligence in failing to properly maintain a bridge over which it operated trains. The majority opinion found that the company was not liable because of an exemption from liability granted by Congress in 1871. Justice Field dissented, arguing that this exemption did not apply as it only applied when there were no other parties who had contributed to the cause of damage or injury; here, however, there were two parties -the railroad and another party- whose combined actions led to the damage at issue. He further argued that even if Congress had intended such an exemption from liability for railroads operating bridges over navigable waters, they should have been required to exercise reasonable care in maintaining them so as not to endanger public safety or property rights.