In the case of Goett, Administratrix v. Union Carbide Corp et al., 1959, Mrs. Goett sued Union Carbide Corporation and several other companies for damages after her husband died from silicosis allegedly caused by exposure to silica dust in his workplace. The Supreme Court ruled that the Federal Employers' Liability Act (FELA) did not apply because Mr. Goett's employment was not sufficiently related to interstate commerce as required under FELA; he worked in a West Virginia mine producing coal exclusively for intrastate consumption within West Virginia power plants owned by Appalachian Power Company, a subsidiary of American Electric Power Company which also served customers outside state lines but had no direct commercial relationship with out-of-state entities regarding this specific coal production operation. Therefore, it was determined that Mr.Goett’s work did not directly or closely enough affect interstate commerce to fall under federal jurisdiction via FELA.

The dissenting opinion in the case of Goett v. Union Carbide Corp argued that the majority's decision to uphold a lower court ruling dismissing Mrs. Goett's claim was incorrect and unjust. The dissent emphasized that Mrs. Goett had presented sufficient evidence to suggest negligence on the part of Union Carbide, which should have been enough for her case to proceed rather than being dismissed outright by summary judgment as it was in this instance. They believed there were genuine issues of material fact regarding whether or not Union Carbide had breached its duty of care towards Mr. Goett, leading to his death from silicosis due to exposure at work without proper safety measures in place; these matters should be decided by a jury trial instead of being summarily dismissed based on legal technicalities about jurisdictional boundaries between state and federal courts under workers' compensation laws.