The Supreme Court case Louisiana & Pine Bluff Railway Company v. United States in 1921 revolved around the issue of whether or not a railway company could be held liable for damages caused by its negligence, even if it was operating under government control during wartime. The court ruled that while the federal government had taken over operation of the railways during World War I, this did not absolve private companies from liability for their own negligence. In this particular case, an employee of Louisiana & Pine Bluff Railway Company was injured due to alleged negligent maintenance and he sued for compensation. The railway company argued that since they were under federal control at the time, they should be immune from such lawsuits but the court disagreed stating that despite being operated by U.S Railroad Administration (a federal agency), it remained a separate legal entity responsible for its actions.

In the dissenting opinion for Louisiana & Pine Bluff Railway Company v. United States, Justice McReynolds disagreed with the majority's decision that upheld an order by the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC). The ICC had ordered a reduction in rates charged by railroads for interstate transportation of certain commodities. Justice McReynolds argued that this was not within their jurisdiction as it interfered with matters of state regulation and intrastate commerce. He believed that such interference could lead to unjust results, particularly when applied to small carriers like the plaintiff who might be unable to bear financial losses resulting from reduced rates. Furthermore, he contended that there were insufficient findings on record regarding whether existing rates were unreasonable or discriminatory before imposing new ones; hence due process rights may have been violated.