In the case of Great Northern Railway Co. v. Sullivan, 1934, the U.S Supreme Court ruled in favor of Sullivan and upheld a Montana state law that allowed employees to sue their employers for damages caused by negligence on part of fellow employees. The railway company argued that this law was unconstitutional as it interfered with interstate commerce and violated the due process clause under the Fourteenth Amendment. However, Justice Benjamin Cardozo rejected these arguments stating that states have power to regulate safety measures within their borders without interfering with federal control over interstate commerce unless there is direct conflict between them which did not exist in this case. He also stated that liability imposed by such laws does not violate due process rights if they are reasonable and appropriate response to risk involved in business operations.

In the dissenting opinion for Great Northern Railway Co. v. Sullivan, Justice Stone argued that the majority's decision was inconsistent with prior rulings and principles of statutory interpretation. He contended that Congress intended to provide a remedy for all injuries sustained in interstate commerce employment when it enacted the Federal Employers' Liability Act (FELA). According to him, this should include injuries resulting from assaults by fellow employees, which were not uncommon in such work environments at the time. The majority's narrow reading of FELA would unjustly exclude these types of cases from its purview, leaving victims without recourse under federal law despite clear congressional intent otherwise. Furthermore, he disagreed with their assertion that state laws could adequately address these issues; instead suggesting they often fell short due to jurisdictional limitations or other reasons.