The Meeker v. Lehigh Valley Railroad case in 1914 revolved around the issue of whether a railroad company could be held liable for injuries sustained by an employee due to negligence on part of another employee. The plaintiff, George W. Meeker, was injured while working as a brakeman for the defendant, Lehigh Valley Railroad Company when he fell from a car that had been negligently moved by another worker. He sued under the Federal Employers' Liability Act (FELA), which holds employers responsible for injuries resulting from their employees' negligence during interstate commerce operations. In this case, however, it was argued that FELA did not apply because at the time of his injury Meeker's work involved intrastate commerce - moving cars within New Jersey - rather than interstate commerce between states or countries. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of Lehigh Valley Railroad stating that since Mr.Meeker’s duties were primarily related to intrastate commerce at the time he got injured and not directly engaged with interstate trade; hence FELA didn't cover him and thus absolving them from liability.

In the dissenting opinion for Meeker v. Lehigh Valley Railroad, it was argued that the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) did not have jurisdiction over intrastate commerce and therefore could not regulate rates on purely intrastate shipments. The dissenters believed that allowing such regulation would infringe upon states' rights to control their own internal affairs, which is a fundamental principle of federalism in the U.S Constitution. They also contended that there was no evidence showing these particular intrastate rates were unjust or unreasonable, nor any proof they had a substantial effect on interstate commerce. Therefore, they concluded that ICC's order should be set aside as an unlawful interference with state sovereignty and local self-government.