This case was a dispute between the Indianapolis Rolling Mill and the St. Louis, Fort Scott & Wichita Railroad. The Indianapolis Rolling Mill had contracted with the railroad to transport a shipment of iron from Indiana to Kansas. The shipment was delayed and the iron was damaged due to the negligence of the railroad. The Indianapolis Rolling Mill sued the railroad for damages. The Supreme Court held that the railroad was liable for the damages caused by its negligence. The Court found that the railroad had a duty to exercise reasonable care in transporting the shipment and that it had breached that duty by failing to do so. The Court also held that the railroad was liable for the damages caused by its negligence, even though the contract between the parties did not explicitly state that the railroad was responsible for such damages. The Court concluded that the railroad was liable for the damages caused by its negligence and awarded the Indianapolis Rolling Mill the amount of damages it had requested.

Justice Field delivered the dissenting opinion in Indianapolis Rolling Mill v. St. Louis, Fort Scott & Wichita Railroad, arguing that the majority had misapplied existing law and failed to consider important facts of the case. He argued that under prior precedent from other cases, a carrier was liable for any damage caused by its negligence regardless of whether it was foreseeable or not; thus he disagreed with the majority's conclusion that foreseeability should be taken into account when determining liability in this particular case. Furthermore, Justice Field noted that while there may have been some contributory negligence on behalf of Indianapolis Rolling Mill (the plaintiff), such negligence did not absolve St. Louis, Fort Scott & Wichita Railroad (the defendant) from responsibility for damages resulting from its own negligent acts or omissions as a common carrier transporting goods across state lines - an obligation which is imposed upon carriers by federal statute and cannot be avoided through contract provisions between parties involved in interstate commerce transactions. In sum, Justice Field concluded his dissent by asserting that since no evidence existed to suggest otherwise than gross carelessness on part of St. Louis railroad company leading up to and causing injury to property belonging to Indianapolis Rolling Mill Company - they were liable for all damages incurred as result thereof according their obligations under federal statutes governing interstate commerce transactions