In the case of Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railway Company v. Backus in 1893, the U.S Supreme Court ruled on a dispute involving railway freight charges. The plaintiff, Backus, sued the railroad company for overcharging him for transporting his livestock across state lines from Ohio to New York City. He argued that he was charged more than what was stipulated under an agreement between several states known as "The Joint Traffic Agreement." However, the railroad company contended that they were not bound by this agreement because it had been declared illegal by another court ruling prior to their transaction with Backus. The Supreme Court sided with Backus stating that even though "The Joint Traffic Agreement" had been deemed unlawful due to its monopolistic nature; it did not absolve the railway company from honoring contracts made under its provisions before it was declared illegal. Therefore, any rates set forth in such agreements remained enforceable until officially changed or nullified according to legal procedures outlined in Interstate Commerce Act regulations.

In the dissenting opinion for the Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railway Company v. Backus case in 1893, it was argued that the majority's decision to hold a railway company liable for damages caused by an accident involving livestock on its tracks was unjustified. The dissenting justices believed that there were insufficient precautions taken by the owner of the livestock to prevent them from straying onto railway property and thus causing harm or damage. They contended that railroads should not be held responsible for accidents resulting from animals wandering onto their tracks unless negligence can be proven on part of railroad companies themselves such as failure to maintain fences along their lines where required by law or contract. Furthermore, they expressed concern over potential implications this ruling could have on future cases involving similar circumstances which might unfairly burden railroad companies with liabilities due to actions beyond their control.