In Insurance Company v. Kiger, 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 losses caused by fire. The insured had failed to disclose to the insurance company that the property was being used for a business purpose, and the fire had occurred while the property was being used for that purpose. The Supreme Court held that the insurance company was not liable for the fire loss. The Court reasoned that the insured had failed to disclose the business use of the property, and that this failure constituted a material misrepresentation of the risk. The Court further held that the insurance company had the right to rely on the representations made by the insured, and that the insurance company was not liable for the fire loss as a result of the insured's misrepresentation.

Justice Field delivered the dissenting opinion in Insurance Company v. Kiger, 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 unless they were found to be fraudulent or unconscionable. In this case, there was no evidence of fraud or any other legal basis for invalidating the contract; therefore, it should have been enforced as written. Furthermore, Justice Field noted that if courts could unilaterally modify contracts based on their own notions of fairness and justice without regard for applicable laws or precedents then "the security which individuals are entitled to possess in respect of their private engagements" would be undermined. As such he concluded by urging his colleagues not to expand judicial powers beyond what is necessary and proper under existing law but instead allow parties who enter into agreements with each other do so with confidence knowing that those agreements will be honored by the court system when disputes arise.