Ford's real motivation was to keep money out of the hands of the Dodge brothers - he thought they were going to use the dividend money to start a rival automake

Ford's real motivation was to keep money out of the hands of the Dodge brothers - he thought they were going to use the dividend money to start a rival automaker, and he was right. The court ruled against Ford because he was acting in bad faith towards his shareholders, not because it's wrong for a corporation to accumulate assets and reinvest in its business instead of paying dividends. (Otherwise Steve Jobs and Warren Buffett would be in trouble...)