The Southern Railway Co. v. Painter, Administratrix case in 1941 revolved around a fatal accident involving an employee of the Southern Railway Company who was killed while on duty due to alleged negligence by the company. The deceased's wife, as administratrix of his estate, sued for damages under the Federal Employers' Liability Act (FELA). Initially, she won her case and was awarded $3,500 in damages by a South Carolina court. However, upon appeal to the Supreme Court by Southern Railway Co., it was ruled that there were errors made during trial proceedings which may have influenced jury decision-making unfairly against them. Specifically, instructions given to jurors regarding "assumption of risk" were deemed incorrect; they had been told that if they found any negligence at all on part of the railway company contributing even slightly towards causing injury or death then assumption of risk could not be used as defense - this contradicted FELA provisions where such defense is only disallowed when employer violation directly causes harm. Therefore,the Supreme Court reversed previous judgement and remanded back for new trial with correct instructions.

In the dissenting opinion for Southern Railway Co. v. Painter, 1941, Justice Black argued that the majority's decision to reverse a state court ruling was based on an incorrect interpretation of federal law and violated principles of federalism. He contended that the Federal Employers' Liability Act (FELA) did not preclude states from applying their own laws regarding contributory negligence in cases involving railroad workers injured on the job. Instead, he believed FELA merely established a minimum standard of liability for railroads under federal law while allowing states to provide additional protections if they chose to do so. Therefore, according to Justice Black's view, it was inappropriate for the Supreme Court to overturn a South Carolina court’s judgment which had applied its own more stringent standards concerning contributory negligence as permitted by state law.