In the case of Western Union Telegraph Company v. Brown, Executor of Lange et al., 1919, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Western Union Telegraph Company. The dispute arose when a telegraph message was sent by an individual who later died before receiving a response to his message. His executor sued for damages on behalf of his estate claiming that there were delays and negligence in delivering the reply telegram which resulted in financial loss to the deceased's business interests. However, it was found that no actual damage had been proven as directly resulting from any delay or negligence on part of Western Union and thus they could not be held liable for speculative losses based solely on what might have happened if circumstances were different.

In the dissenting opinion for Western Union Telegraph Company v. Brown, it was argued that the majority's decision to hold Western Union liable for damages due to a delay in delivering a death notice was incorrect. The dissenting justices believed that while there may have been negligence on part of the telegraph company, this did not necessarily equate to liability for emotional distress caused by delayed delivery of such messages. They contended that holding companies responsible for unforeseen emotional damage could set a dangerous precedent and place an undue burden on businesses. Furthermore, they pointed out inconsistencies in how different types of messages were treated under law; if similar delays occurred with non-emotional business or personal communications, no such liabilities would be imposed. Thus, they felt the ruling unfairly singled out specific types of communication based purely on their potential emotional impact rather than any legal principle.