In the 1892 case of Leggett v. Standard Oil Company, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of Standard Oil, dismissing a claim brought by William Leggett who alleged that he was cheated out of his share in an oil business partnership with John D. Rockefeller and others which later became part of Standard Oil Company. The court found no evidence to support Leggett's claims that he had been defrauded or deceived into selling his shares at a price below their true value due to fraudulent misrepresentations made by Rockefeller and other partners about the financial status and prospects of the company. Instead, it held that any losses suffered by Leggett were attributable to his own decisions and actions rather than any wrongdoing on the part of Rockefeller or other defendants.

In the dissenting opinion for Leggett v. Standard Oil Company, it was argued that the majority's decision to uphold a New Jersey law prohibiting out-of-state corporations from doing business in New Jersey unless they had an office and agent within the state was incorrect. The dissent contended that this law violated both the Commerce Clause of the U.S Constitution, which gives Congress exclusive power over interstate commerce, and also infringed upon corporate rights under Fourteenth Amendment protections. They believed that by requiring out-of-state corporations to maintain an office and agent in New Jersey as a condition of conducting business there, it placed undue burden on these entities thus obstructing free trade among states. Furthermore, they held that such laws were discriminatory against non-resident businesses thereby violating their equal protection rights under Fourteenth Amendment.