In the case of Miller v. Cornwall Railroad Company, 1897, the U.S Supreme Court ruled in favor of the railroad company. The plaintiff, Mr. Miller was a passenger on one of Cornwall's trains when he suffered injuries due to an accident caused by negligence from another train operator who was not employed by Cornwall Railroad Company. He sued for damages arguing that as a common carrier, Cornwall had an absolute duty to ensure his safety and should be held liable for any breach regardless of fault or foreseeability. However, the court disagreed with this argument stating that while it is true carriers have high duties towards their passengers; they are not insurers against all accidents but only those which could have been prevented through human foresight and prudence - thus establishing important precedent regarding liability in transportation law.

In the dissenting opinion for Miller v. Cornwall Railroad Company, it was argued that the majority's decision to uphold a Pennsylvania law requiring railroads to compensate landowners for damages caused by sparks from locomotives was incorrect. The dissenting justices believed that this law violated the Fourteenth Amendment's Due Process Clause because it unfairly singled out railroad companies and did not apply equally to all businesses causing similar harm. They contended that there were numerous other industries whose operations could cause fire damage but were not held liable under this specific statute, which they saw as arbitrary and discriminatory legislation against railroads. Furthermore, they disagreed with the majority's view that preventing fires justified such unequal treatment of different types of businesses under state law.