In the 1902 U.S. Supreme Court case, The Conemaugh, a dispute arose over liability for damages caused by a collision between two vessels in New York Harbor: the steamship "Conemaugh" and the schooner "William Nottingham". The lower court had found both parties equally at fault and divided the damages evenly. However, upon appeal to the Supreme Court, it was determined that only one party was truly responsible. The court ruled that while both ships failed to comply with statutory rules regarding navigation lights during their encounter on foggy waters, it was primarily due to negligence of those aboard 'The Conemaugh' who did not take necessary precautions despite being aware of an approaching vessel's presence through sound signals heard from afar. Therefore, they were held solely liable for all damage costs incurred as a result of this maritime accident.

In the dissenting opinion for The Conemaugh case, it was argued that the majority's decision to hold the steamboat liable for damages caused by a collision with another vessel was incorrect. The dissenting justices believed that both vessels were equally at fault and should share responsibility for the accident. They contended that while there may have been negligence on part of The Conemaugh, this did not absolve other parties involved in their duty to take necessary precautions to avoid such accidents. Therefore, they disagreed with placing sole liability on one party when multiple parties contributed to causing an accident due to shared negligence or failure in observing standard navigational practices.