In the case of Hardaway v. National Surety Company, the U.S Supreme Court dealt with a dispute over a construction contract and its associated surety bond. The plaintiff, Hardaway, was contracted to build an aqueduct for the city of Columbus in Georgia but failed to complete it within the specified time frame due to unforeseen difficulties. As a result, he faced penalties as per his contract's terms which were guaranteed by National Surety Company under their surety bond agreement. When sued by National Surety for recovery of these penalties paid on his behalf, Hardaway argued that he should not be held liable because his delay was caused by unexpected obstacles beyond his control such as labor strikes and material shortages. The court ruled against him stating that these circumstances did not absolve him from liability since they could have been anticipated and factored into project planning at outset; hence they didn't constitute "unforeseeable" events or force majeure conditions relieving him from contractual obligations. Therefore, according to this ruling, contractors are expected to account for potential delays when entering contracts and cannot evade penalty payments if they fail to do so.

In the dissenting opinion for Hardaway v. National Surety Company, it was argued that the majority's decision to hold a surety company liable for an employer's failure to pay wages was unjustified. The dissenting justices contended that the bond in question only covered losses resulting from fraudulent or dishonest acts by employees, not failures by employers to meet their financial obligations. They further pointed out that there were no allegations of fraud or dishonesty involved in this case; instead, it revolved around a simple inability or unwillingness on part of the employer to pay its workers. Therefore, they believed holding the surety company responsible under these circumstances stretched beyond what could reasonably be expected under such bonds and set a dangerous precedent for future cases involving similar issues.