It was responsible for maintenance of the South Fork Dam, which failed in May 1889, causing the Johnstown Flood and severe losses of life and property downriver.

[citation needed] As its attorneys; Knox and his law partner Reed were able to fend off four lawsuits against the club; Colonel Unger, its president; and against 50 named members.

Knox and Reed successfully argued that the dam's failure was a natural disaster, which was an Act of God, and no legal compensation was paid to the survivors of the flood.

[3] The perceived injustice aided the acceptance of “strict, joint, and several liability,” so that a “non-negligent defendant could be held liable for damage caused by the unnatural use of land.

[6][7] He also achieved some fame from settling a "bitter dispute" between fellow club members, business partners Andrew Carnegie and co-founder Henry Clay Frick, a decade later.