In the United States v. Nord Deutscher Lloyd case of 1911, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of a German shipping company, Nord Deutscher Lloyd (NDL). The dispute arose when NDL refused to pay tonnage tax on its vessels that were engaged in trade between Germany and the U.S., arguing that it was exempted from such taxes under an existing treaty between both countries. The government argued otherwise, stating that NDL's exemption had been nullified by subsequent legislation imposing tonnage duties on all foreign vessels entering American ports. However, after examining the language and intent of both the treaty and later legislation, Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., writing for a unanimous court held that treaties are equivalent to supreme law of land; thus they can only be repealed or modified by another treaty or act expressly designed for this purpose - neither condition was met here. Therefore, he concluded that NDL remained entitled to its tax exemption as per original agreement.

In the dissenting opinion for United States v. Nord Deutscher Lloyd, Justice Holmes disagreed with the majority's interpretation of a statute regarding ship owners' liability for lost baggage. He argued that the statute should be interpreted to limit ship owners' liability only in cases where they had not been negligent. In this case, he believed there was evidence suggesting negligence on part of Nord Deutscher Lloyd and therefore it should be held liable for the full value of lost luggage rather than just $100 as stipulated by law at that time. Furthermore, he contended that passengers have little bargaining power when agreeing to terms set by shipping companies and thus such contracts shouldn't absolve these companies from their responsibility towards passenger property loss due to their own fault or neglect.