In the 1982 case of Thurston Motor Lines, Inc. v. Jordan K. Rand, Ltd., the United States Supreme Court ruled in favor of Thurston Motor Lines, reversing a decision made by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. The dispute centered around whether or not an interstate motor carrier could recover undercharges from a shipper when it had previously agreed to charge less than its filed tariff rate for transportation services provided to that shipper. The court held that federal law required carriers like Thurston to adhere strictly to their filed tariffs and prohibited them from charging shippers any more or less than those rates without first obtaining approval from regulatory authorities such as the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC). Therefore, even though Thurston had initially agreed with Jordan K Rand Ltd on lower charges for its services, it was still entitled under federal law to collect additional amounts equaling up to what it should have charged according to its filed tariff.

In the dissenting opinion for Thurston Motor Lines, Inc. v. Jordan K. Rand, Ltd., it was argued that the majority's decision to uphold a lower court ruling in favor of Thurston Motor Lines was incorrect and inconsistent with previous Supreme Court rulings on similar issues related to interstate commerce regulation. The dissenting justices believed that the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) had overstepped its authority by allowing Thurston to change its freight rates without proper notice or hearing as required by law, thus violating due process rights of affected parties like Jordan K. Rand Ltd.. They also disagreed with the majority's interpretation of ICC regulations and felt they were being applied unfairly in this case.