In the case of McMaster et al. v. Gould et al., 1927, the United States Supreme Court was asked to determine whether a state law that required foreign corporations to consent to service of process on an in-state agent as a condition for doing business within its borders violated due process rights under the Fourteenth Amendment. The plaintiffs were Canadian insurance companies who had been sued by policyholders in South Dakota but claimed they could not be served because they did not have any agents or offices within the state. The court ruled against them, upholding South Dakota's law and finding it did not violate their constitutional rights. It reasoned that if a corporation chooses to do business in another jurisdiction, it implicitly agrees to abide by its laws and regulations - including those related to service of process. This decision established important precedent regarding personal jurisdiction over foreign corporations operating within U.S states.

In the dissenting opinion for McMaster et al. v. Gould et al., Justice Stone argued that the majority's decision to uphold a New York law prohibiting out-of-state insurance companies from removing cases to federal court was incorrect. He contended that this ruling violated the Fourteenth Amendment, which guarantees equal protection under the law, as it discriminated against foreign corporations by denying them access to federal courts - a right granted to domestic corporations and individuals in similar situations. Furthermore, he believed that such discrimination could not be justified on grounds of public policy or state interest since there were no compelling reasons why foreign insurers should be treated differently than their domestic counterparts when seeking justice in court disputes.