In the case of Louisville & Nashville Railroad Company v. Holloway, Administrator of Holloway in 1917, the U.S Supreme Court ruled in favor of the railroad company. The case arose from an accident where a train owned by Louisville & Nashville Railroad Company collided with a wagon driven by Mr. Holloway resulting in his death. His estate sued for damages under Kentucky law which allowed recovery if negligence could be proven on part of the defendant and contributory negligence was not shown on part of plaintiff's decedent (Mr.Holloway). However, it was found that Mr.Holloway had failed to stop and look both ways before crossing as required by state law thus contributing to his own demise through negligent behavior. Therefore, despite evidence suggesting some fault lay with the railroad company due to lack of proper signaling at crossings or excessive speed etc., they were absolved because Mr.Holloway himself did not exercise due care while crossing railway tracks thereby violating safety laws.

In the dissenting opinion for Louisville & Nashville Railroad Company v. Holloway, 1917, Justice Holmes argued that the court should not have overturned the judgment of the Kentucky Court of Appeals. He believed that there was sufficient evidence to support a finding of negligence on part of the railroad company and disagreed with majority's interpretation regarding contributory negligence law in Kentucky. According to him, it was up to juries - not judges - to decide whether or not an individual had acted negligently under state law. Therefore, he felt that overturning such decisions undermined this important aspect of jury trials and set a dangerous precedent for future cases involving similar circumstances.