The U.S. Supreme Court case Oklahoma Packing Co. et al. v. Oklahoma Gas & Electric Co., 1939, revolved around a dispute between the two parties over electricity rates set by the Corporation Commission of Oklahoma for industrial consumers in the state's capital city, which were claimed to be discriminatory and unreasonable by the appellants (Oklahoma Packing Company). The court held that while it was within its jurisdiction to review orders made by state commissions regarding utility rates under certain circumstances, it would not intervene if there was no clear violation of constitutional rights or federal law involved in such decisions - as long as they are reasonable and non-discriminatory according to local standards and conditions. In this particular case, since there was no evidence presented proving that these rate orders violated any constitutional provisions or federal laws nor were they arbitrary or capricious based on local conditions; hence, their validity could not be challenged before Federal courts.

In the dissenting opinion for Oklahoma Packing Co. et al. v. Oklahoma Gas & Electric Co., Justice Black argued that the majority's decision to uphold a state law allowing utilities to charge higher rates in order to recoup losses from bad investments was fundamentally unfair and unjustified by any compelling public interest. He contended that such laws effectively forced consumers, who had no control over or responsibility for these failed ventures, to subsidize private corporations' business risks and mistakes through their utility bills. This not only violated principles of fairness but also threatened economic stability by encouraging reckless investment behavior among companies confident they could pass on any losses without consequence.