In Railroad Company v. Fuller, the Supreme Court of the United States was asked to decide whether a railroad company was liable for damages caused by a collision between two of its trains. The plaintiff, Fuller, was a passenger on one of the trains and was injured in the collision. He sued the railroad company for damages, claiming that the company was negligent in its operation of the trains. The Supreme Court held that the railroad company was liable for the damages caused by the collision. The Court found that the company had a duty to exercise reasonable care in the operation of its trains, and that it had breached this duty by failing to take proper precautions to prevent the collision. The Court also held that the company was liable for the damages caused by the collision, even though the company had not been negligent in its operation of the trains. The Court's decision in this case established the principle that a railroad company is liable for damages caused by its negligence in the operation of its trains, even if the company was not negligent in its operation of the trains. This principle has been applied in many subsequent cases involving railroad companies and other common carriers.

In Railroad Company v. Fuller, the Supreme Court was tasked with determining whether a railroad company could be held liable for damages caused by its negligence in failing to properly secure and transport goods belonging to another party. The majority opinion found that the railroad company could not be held liable because it had acted as an independent contractor, rather than an agent of the owner of the goods. Justice Field dissented from this ruling, arguing that under common law principles of agency liability, a principal is responsible for any negligent acts committed by their agents or contractors while acting on their behalf. He argued that since there was evidence showing that the railroad company had been hired to act as an agent of the owner in transporting his goods safely and securely, they should have been held accountable when those duties were not fulfilled due to negligence on their part.