In the case of Sun Oil Co. v. Dalzell Towing Co., Inc., 1932, the U.S Supreme Court ruled in favor of Sun Oil Company after a collision between one of its barges and a tugboat owned by Dalzell Towing Company. The accident occurred when the barge was being towed by another vessel operated by an independent contractor hired by Sun Oil, but without any fault on part of this contractor or his crew. The court held that under maritime law, liability for damage caused during towing operations falls upon the party at fault for causing such damage - not necessarily on the owner of either vessel involved in these operations unless their negligence contributed to it directly or indirectly. In this instance, since there was no evidence suggesting any negligence from Sun Oil or its contractor towards managing their barge properly before it collided with Dalzell's tugboat; they were absolved from paying damages to Dalzell who failed to prove otherwise convincingly enough.

The dissenting opinion in the case of Sun Oil Co. v. Dalzell Towing Co., Inc., argued that the majority's decision to hold Sun Oil Company liable for damages was incorrect, as it did not consider all relevant factors and circumstances surrounding the incident. The dissent emphasized that both parties had a duty to avoid collision and should share responsibility for any resulting damage due to their mutual negligence or fault. It pointed out that while Sun Oil’s vessel may have been improperly moored, Dalzell Towing also failed in its obligation by proceeding at an excessive speed given visibility conditions on the river at night time when they struck against each other causing significant damage. Therefore, according to this view, liability should be apportioned between both parties rather than being placed solely on one party.