In Insurance Company v. Fogarty, the Supreme Court of the United States was asked to decide whether an insurance company was liable for a fire loss that occurred on a property owned by the insured. The insured had taken out a policy with the insurance company, which provided coverage for fire losses. The insured had also taken out a loan from the defendant, Fogarty, and had given him a mortgage on the property as security for the loan. The fire occurred after the loan was taken out, but before the mortgage was recorded. The Court held that the insurance company was liable for the fire loss, even though the mortgage had not been recorded. The Court reasoned that the insurance company had taken on the risk of the property when it issued the policy, and that the mortgage was not necessary to protect the insurance company's interest in the property. The Court also noted that the insured had not acted in bad faith in failing to record the mortgage, and that the insurance company had not been prejudiced by the failure to record. Therefore, the Court held that the insurance company was liable for the fire loss.

Justice Field delivered the dissenting opinion in Insurance Company v. Fogarty, arguing that the majority's decision was contrary to established precedent and would lead to a dangerous expansion of judicial power. He argued that under existing law, courts had no authority to set aside contracts between parties on equitable grounds unless there were fraud or mistake involved; however, the majority had done just this by setting aside an insurance contract due solely to its own assessment of fairness. Justice Field further noted that such decisions should be left up to legislatures rather than courts as they are better equipped for making policy judgments about what is fair and reasonable in any given situation. In conclusion, he warned against allowing judges too much discretion when it comes to interfering with contractual agreements between private parties as it could have far-reaching implications for future cases involving similar issues.