In the 1956 case Thompson v. Coastal Oil Co., the Supreme Court of the United States was tasked with determining whether a state court had jurisdiction over an out-of-state corporation in a personal injury lawsuit. The plaintiff, Thompson, was injured while working on a ship owned by Coastal Oil Company and sought compensation for his injuries. However, since Coastal Oil Company was not based in New Jersey where he filed his suit, there were questions about whether or not the courts could exercise jurisdiction over them. The Supreme Court ultimately ruled that New Jersey did have jurisdiction because of "minimum contacts" between the company and state - specifically noting that although it wasn't incorporated or headquartered in NJ, it regularly conducted business there (including maintaining offices). This ruling set an important precedent regarding how far-reaching a state's judicial power can be when dealing with corporations operating across multiple states.

In the dissenting opinion for Thompson v. Coastal Oil Co., it was argued that the majority's decision to hold a ship owner liable for injuries sustained by an employee of an independent contractor, who was performing work on the vessel, expanded maritime law beyond its traditional boundaries. The dissent contended that this expansion could have significant implications and potentially lead to unjust results in future cases. They believed that liability should only be imposed if there is some fault or negligence on part of the ship owner which contributed to causing injury. In this case, they felt there was no evidence suggesting any such negligence from Coastal Oil Company towards Thompson’s injury while working aboard their tanker as an employee of another company (an independent contractor). Therefore, according to them, holding Coastal Oil responsible would set a dangerous precedent where owners might be held accountable even when they are not at fault.