The Annie Lindsley was a case heard by the United States Supreme Court in 1881. The case involved a dispute between the owners of the Annie Lindsley, a vessel, and the owners of the steamer, the City of New York. The owners of the Annie Lindsley claimed that the City of New York had negligently caused the Annie Lindsley to be damaged while the two vessels were in close proximity. The owners of the Annie Lindsley sought damages from the owners of the City of New York. The Supreme Court held that the owners of the City of New York were liable for the damages caused to the Annie Lindsley. The Court found that the City of New York had been negligent in its operation of the vessel, and that the negligence had caused the damage to the Annie Lindsley. The Court also held that the owners of the City of New York were liable for the damages even though the Annie Lindsley had been in close proximity to the City of New York. The Court's decision in The Annie Lindsley established the principle that a vessel's owners are liable for damages caused by their negligence, even if the damages were caused by another vessel in close proximity. This principle has been applied in numerous cases since The Annie Lindsley, and is still an important part of maritime law today.

In the case of The Annie Lindsley, the Supreme Court was asked to decide whether a vessel that had been sold in good faith by its owner could be held liable for debts incurred by its former owners. The majority opinion found that the vessel should not be held liable because it had already been sold and no longer belonged to those who owed money. However, Justice Field dissented from this decision on two grounds: first, he argued that under maritime law vessels were subject to liens regardless of ownership; second, he argued that even if such a lien did not exist at common law or under maritime law, Congress still had authority to create one through legislation. He concluded his dissent with an argument against allowing debtors to escape their obligations simply by transferring title of property they owned without paying off any outstanding debts.