In the Fowler v. Equitable Trust Company case of 1891, the U.S Supreme Court dealt with a dispute over bonds issued by a railroad company. The plaintiff, Fowler, had purchased these bonds from the defendant, Equitable Trust Company. However, when he discovered that they were not first mortgage bonds as represented but instead second mortgage bonds and therefore less valuable than what he was led to believe at purchase time; he sued for fraud and deceit in order to recover his investment. The court ruled in favor of Fowler stating that it was clear there had been misrepresentation on part of the trust company about the nature and value of these securities which amounted to fraudulent conduct leading him into purchasing them under false pretenses. Therefore, it held that Fowler was entitled to rescind this transaction and get back his money along with interest.

In the dissenting opinion for Fowler v. Equitable Trust Company, it was argued that the majority's decision to uphold a lower court ruling against Mr. Fowler was incorrect due to an improper interpretation of bankruptcy law. The dissenting justices believed that Mr. Fowler should not be held personally liable for his company's debts because he had filed for bankruptcy protection before those debts were incurred and therefore they should have been discharged in the bankruptcy proceedings. They also disagreed with the majority's assertion that Mr. Fowler acted fraudulently by transferring assets from his company to himself prior to filing for bankruptcy, arguing instead that this transfer was a legitimate business transaction made in good faith and without intent to defraud creditors or evade payment obligations.