In the case of Missouri Pacific Railroad Co. v. Reynolds-Davis Grocery Co., the Supreme Court ruled on a dispute regarding freight charges between a railroad company and a grocery firm in 1924. The grocery company had shipped goods via the railroad, but refused to pay additional freight charges that were levied after delivery due to an increase in rates by order of Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC). The ICC's rate hike was applied retroactively, which led to the disagreement over who should bear this cost - whether it should be absorbed by shippers or railroads. The court held that under federal law, specifically Section 6 of the Interstate Commerce Act, rail carriers could not collect increased rates for transportation services already rendered unless their tariffs expressly provided for such retroactive application at time when service was performed. Therefore, Missouri Pacific Railroad Company could not demand payment from Reynolds-Davis Grocery Company for these extra costs as they did not have any provision allowing them to do so.

The dissenting opinion in the case of Missouri Pacific Railroad Co. v. Reynolds-Davis Grocery Co., argued that the majority's decision was inconsistent with previous rulings and failed to properly apply established principles of law. The dissent contended that, under existing laws and precedents, a carrier is liable for damages resulting from delays unless it can prove that it exercised all possible care to prevent them or they were caused by an act of God or public enemy. In this case, there was no evidence presented showing such extraordinary circumstances existed which could have excused the delay in delivery; thus, according to the dissenters' view, liability should be imposed on the railroad company as per standard practice.