In Milwaukie and Minnesota Railroad Company and Fleming v. Soutter, the Supreme Court was asked to decide whether a railroad company could be held liable for damages caused by its negligence in failing to provide adequate safety measures on its property. The case arose when a man named John Soutter was injured while working as an employee of the railroad company. He sued the company for negligence, claiming that it had failed to take reasonable steps to protect him from harm while he worked on their premises. The court found in favor of Soutter, ruling that the railroad had been negligent in not providing sufficient safeguards against injury or death due to unsafe conditions at work sites owned by them. This decision established important precedent regarding employer liability for workplace injuries and deaths resulting from inadequate safety measures taken by employers on their own properties.

In the dissenting opinion of Milwaukie and Minnesota Railroad Company and Fleming v. Soutter, Survivor, Justice Field argued that the lower court's decision should be reversed because it was based on a misinterpretation of the contract between the parties. He maintained that under Wisconsin law, which governed this case, an agreement to pay for services rendered in advance could not be enforced unless there was evidence that such payment had been made or accepted by both parties. In this instance, he noted that no such evidence existed; thus, Soutter did not have any legal right to recover from Milwaukie and Minnesota Railroad Company or Fleming for his services as a conductor on their train line. Furthermore, Justice Field asserted that even if there were sufficient proof of payment being made in advance by either party - which he believed there wasn't - then Soutter would still lack standing since he failed to provide any consideration for said payments when they were allegedly received by him prior to rendering his services as a conductor.