The Oneida Navigation Corporation, Claimant of the Sailing Vessel Percy R. Pyne case in 1919 revolved around a dispute over damages caused by a collision between two vessels: the steamship "Percy R. Pyne" and the schooner "William Bisbee." The owners of William Bisbee sued for damages, alleging that Percy R. Pyne was solely responsible for the accident due to negligence in maintaining proper lookout and speed control during foggy conditions. However, Oneida Navigation Corporation argued that both ships were equally at fault as neither maintained appropriate precautions under such weather circumstances. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of equal division of loss based on mutual fault doctrine - an established maritime law principle which states when two vessels are both at fault for a collision, liability is divided equally regardless of degree or extent each contributed to damage incurred. This decision upheld lower court's ruling where it had been determined that both parties shared responsibility for not adhering to necessary safety measures during adverse weather conditions leading up to their collision.

The dissenting opinion in the case of Oneida Navigation Corporation, claimant of the Sailing Vessel Percy R. Pyne, argued that the majority's decision to hold the Oneida Navigation Corporation liable for damages was incorrect. The dissent pointed out that there were no clear rules or regulations governing navigation on Lake Erie at night during foggy conditions when this incident occurred. Therefore, it was unfair to blame solely one party for an accident caused by such uncertain circumstances. Furthermore, they contended that both vessels involved in this collision had equal responsibility to avoid each other and maintain a safe distance under these challenging conditions. Thus, according to them, liability should have been shared between both parties rather than being placed entirely on Oneida Navigation Corporation.