In Insurance Company v. Express Company, the Supreme Court of the United States was asked to determine whether an express company was liable for the loss of goods that were shipped by an insurance company. The insurance company had shipped the goods to the express company, and the express company had agreed to deliver them to the intended recipient. However, the goods were lost in transit. The insurance company argued that the express company was liable for the loss, while the express company argued that it was not liable. The Supreme Court held that the express company was liable for the loss of the goods. The Court reasoned that the express company had agreed to deliver the goods, and that it had failed to do so. The Court also noted that the express company had not taken any steps to protect the goods from loss or damage. As a result, the Court held that the express company was liable for the loss of the goods.

In Insurance Company v. Express Company, the Supreme Court was asked to determine whether an express company could be held liable for damages caused by a fire that destroyed goods in transit. The majority opinion found that since the express company had not been negligent and there was no contract between them and the insurance company, they were not liable for any losses incurred due to the fire. Justice Field dissented from this decision, arguing that even though there was no contractual relationship between the parties involved, it did not absolve them of liability as common law principles dictate otherwise. He argued that when goods are entrusted into another's care with reasonable expectation of safe delivery then a duty is created on behalf of those responsible for their safety which cannot be avoided through lack of contract or negligence. Therefore he concluded that under these circumstances both parties should have been held accountable for any loss suffered by either party due to destruction or damage caused by fire while in transit regardless if one party had acted negligently or not