In the case of The Monrosa et al. v. Carbon Black Export, Inc., 1958, the U.S Supreme Court ruled on a dispute involving maritime law and jurisdictional issues between an Italian ship owner (The Monrosa) and a Texas company (Carbon Black Export). The conflict arose when the ship was damaged during loading operations in Texas, causing it to sink in international waters while en route to Italy. The Italian owners sued for damages in New York federal court under American admiralty law but Carbon Black argued that according to their contract's forum-selection clause, any disputes should be settled by courts in Genoa, Italy. The Supreme Court held that forum-selection clauses were not necessarily enforceable if they contravened public policy or if enforcing them would lead to unjust results. It found no compelling reason why American courts could not hear this case despite the contractual provision specifying otherwise; hence it affirmed lower court decisions allowing litigation to proceed within U.S jurisdiction.

In the dissenting opinion for The Monrosa et al. v. Carbon Black Export, Inc., it was argued that the majority's decision to allow a foreign shipowner to avoid arbitration in New York, as stipulated by their contract with an American company, undermined the principle of contractual freedom and could discourage international commerce. The dissenting justices believed that when parties enter into a contract freely and voluntarily agree on terms such as dispute resolution procedures or jurisdiction clauses, those agreements should be respected unless they are unreasonable or unjust. They also pointed out that both parties were sophisticated commercial entities who had equal bargaining power during negotiations; hence there was no reason to believe one party had been disadvantaged unfairly by the agreement reached. Furthermore, they noted that allowing foreign companies to evade agreed-upon obligations might deter American businesses from engaging in international trade due to fear of being unable to enforce contracts effectively.