In the case of National Foundry and Pipe Works v. Oconto Water Supply Co., 1901, the U.S Supreme Court was tasked with determining whether a Wisconsin state court had jurisdiction over an out-of-state corporation in a contract dispute. The National Foundry and Pipe Works, based in New Jersey, had entered into a contract to supply pipes to the Oconto Water Supply Company located in Wisconsin. A disagreement arose regarding payment for these goods which led to litigation. The main issue before the Supreme Court was whether or not it violated due process rights under Fourteenth Amendment for Wisconsin courts to exercise personal jurisdiction over an out-of-state defendant who did not have substantial contacts within that state but whose only contact was through mail order contracts. The court ruled against National Foundry stating that entering into contracts via mail with residents of another state can establish sufficient minimum contacts necessary for personal jurisdiction if those contracts result in "a substantial volume of business." Therefore, even though they were physically absent from Wisconsin when they made their agreement with Oconto Water Supply Co., by sending goods there as part of their contractual obligation they subjected themselves willingly to its laws and thus could be sued there without violating due process.

The dissenting opinion in the case of National Foundry and Pipe Works v. Oconto Water Supply Co., 1901, argued that the majority's decision was inconsistent with previous rulings on similar issues. The dissenting justices believed that a corporation should not be allowed to avoid its contractual obligations simply because it had undergone a change in ownership or management. They maintained that when a company enters into an agreement, it is bound by those terms regardless of any subsequent changes within the organization itself. Furthermore, they contended that allowing such avoidance would undermine faith in business contracts and could potentially lead to widespread instability within commercial industries as companies might seek to evade their responsibilities through strategic restructuring or reorganization maneuvers.