The Steamer Syracuse was a case heard before the United States Supreme Court in 1871. The dispute involved two vessels, the steamship Syracuse and the sailing vessel Mary E. Smith, which had collided off of Long Island Sound. The owners of both ships sought damages from each other for their respective losses due to the collision. At issue was whether or not either party could be held liable for negligence under maritime law as it existed at that time. In its ruling, the court found that neither shipowner could be held responsible because they were both equally negligent in causing the accident and thus no one should bear any liability for it. This decision established an important precedent regarding maritime law by establishing that when two parties are equally negligent in causing an accident on navigable waters, neither can recover damages from another even if one is more culpable than another according to common-law principles of fault-based liability

In the case of The Steamer Syracuse, 1871, the Supreme Court was asked to decide whether a steamship company could be held liable for damages caused by an employee's negligence. The majority opinion found that the company could not be held responsible because it had no control over its employees' actions and did not have any knowledge or notice of their negligent behavior. However, Justice Field dissented from this ruling and argued that employers should bear some responsibility for their employees’ conduct on behalf of their business. He reasoned that since companies benefit financially from employing workers who are expected to act in accordance with certain standards set by them, they should also accept liability when those standards are violated due to negligence or misconduct. Furthermore, he asserted that if employers were allowed to escape all accountability for such acts then there would be little incentive for them to ensure proper training and supervision of staff members which is essential in protecting public safety.