Sherman Minton

“ In short, the Court of Appeals read the evidence one way and this Court another. If there is any class of cases which plainly falls outside the professed considerations by which this Court exercises its discretionary jurisdiction, it is cases involving only interpretation of facts bearing on the issue of causation or negligence. The standards of judgment in this type of litigation are well settled. The significance of facts becomes the bone of contention. ”

“ And the facts stir differences that derive from the very elusiveness of the meaning of the myriad unique sets of circumstances in negligence cases. One's deep sympathy is of course aroused by a victim of the hazards of negligence litigation in situations like the one before us. ”

“ According to the expert testimony, polio usually does not occur unless there have been previous cases of the disease or contact with persons who have it. The petitioner had an uneventful trip of months before reaching the Orient with individuals who had no polio; then suddenly he is thrown in contact with Chinese from the Shanghai area where polio is prevalent, and thereafter, within the normal period of incubation, he comes down with the disease. ”