Partridge v. The Insurance Company was a case heard by the United States Supreme Court in 1872. The case involved a dispute between a policyholder and an insurance company over the payment of a life insurance policy. The policyholder, Partridge, had taken out a life insurance policy with the insurance company in 1867. Partridge died in 1871, and his widow attempted to collect the policy benefits. The insurance company refused to pay, claiming that Partridge had failed to pay the premiums due on the policy. The Supreme Court held that the insurance company was liable to pay the policy benefits. The Court found that the insurance company had failed to provide Partridge with a notice of the premium due date, as required by the policy. The Court held that the insurance company was liable for the policy benefits, even though Partridge had failed to pay the premiums. The Court also held that the insurance company was liable for the interest on the policy benefits, as the policyholder had been deprived of the use of the money due to the insurance company's failure to provide notice of the premium due date.

In Partridge v. The Insurance Company, the Supreme Court was asked to decide whether an insurance company could be held liable for a fire that occurred on property owned by the insured but rented out to another party. Justice Field delivered the dissenting opinion in which he argued that while it is true that an insurer cannot be held liable for damages caused by a tenant's negligence, they can still be responsible if there are other causes of loss or damage not related to any act of negligence from either party. He further stated that when parties enter into contracts such as those involving insurance policies, they should expect their agreements will be enforced and upheld according to their terms and conditions without exception. In this case, since no evidence had been presented showing any negligent acts committed by either the insured or his tenant, Justice Field concluded that liability should fall upon the insurer who issued coverage for losses due to fires occurring on said premises regardless of how it may have started.