The Texas Company v. Hogarth Shipping Company, Ltd., 1920 is a case that revolved around maritime law and the liability for damages incurred during an oil spill at sea. The Texas Company chartered a ship from Hogarth Shipping Co., which subsequently collided with another vessel causing an oil spill. The Texas company argued that they should not be held liable as they were merely charterers of the ship, while Hogarth contended that since the cargo belonged to them, they should bear responsibility for any damage caused by it. However, in its decision, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of The Texas Company stating that under maritime law and according to their contract agreement with Hogarth Shipping Co., liability fell on the owner of the vessel rather than on those who had chartered it.

In the dissenting opinion for The Texas Company v. Hogarth Shipping Company, Ltd., Justice McReynolds disagreed with the majority's decision to hold The Texas Company liable for damages caused by a collision between its vessel and that of Hogarth Shipping. He argued that both vessels were equally at fault in causing the accident due to their failure to adhere strictly to navigational rules, thus they should share equally in bearing the loss resulting from it. According to him, this principle was well-established under maritime law and had been consistently applied by courts in similar cases before. Therefore, he believed that deviating from this rule without any compelling reason would create unnecessary confusion and uncertainty within maritime industry.