Arthur L. Gustafson, et al. v. Alloyd Company, Incorporated, Fka Alloyd Holdings, Incorporated, et al.

Decided February 28, 1995. Anthony McLeod Kennedy delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 93-404 · 513 U.S. 561 (1995) · Cited 1,256 times

Holding

Section 12(2) does not extend to a private sale contract, since a contract, and its recitations, that are not held out to the public are not a “prospectus” as the term is used in the 1933 Act.

The Court’s statement of the holding, from the opinion’s syllabus. The syllabus is prepared by the Reporter of Decisions and is not part of the opinion of the Court — read the official opinion for authority.

How the Justices voted

Decided 5–4.

“Concurring” means agreeing with the outcome; any split shown is the Court’s judgment, not each Justice’s reasoning. Source: the Supreme Court Database (Spaeth et al.), Washington University.

Precedents cited

Supreme Court decisions this opinion relies on, ordered by how often it cites each. Cases in our collection link through; others are named.

• United States v. Naftalin · 441 U.S. 768 (1979)
• Blue Chip Stamps v. Manor Drug Stores · 421 U.S. 723 (1975)
• Central Bank of Denver, N. A. v. First Interstate Bank of Denver, N. A. · 511 U.S. 164 (1994)
• Ernst & Ernst v. Hochfelder · 425 U.S. 185 (1976)
• Atlantic Cleaners & Dyers, Inc. v. United States · 286 U.S. 427 (1932)
• Landreth Timber Co. v. Landreth · 471 U.S. 681 (1985)
• Securities & Exchange Commission v. Ralston Purina Co. · 346 U.S. 119 (1953)
• Reves v. Ernst & Young · 494 U.S. 56 (1990)
• Russell Motor Car Co. v. United States · 261 U.S. 514 (1923)
• Federal Deposit Insurance v. Meyer · 510 U.S. 471 (1994)
• Herman & MacLean v. Huddleston · 459 U.S. 375 (1983)
• Lampf, Pleva, Lipkind, Prupis & Petigrow v. Gilbertson · 501 U.S. 350 (1991)
• United States v. Menasche · 348 U.S. 528 (1955)
• Securities & Exchange Commission v. National Securities, Inc. · 393 U.S. 453 (1969)
• Brooke Group Ltd. v. Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp. · 509 U.S. 209 (1993)
• Kokoszka v. Belford · 417 U.S. 642 (1974)
• Jarecki v. G. D. Searle & Co. · 367 U.S. 303 (1961)
• Philbrook v. Glodgett · 421 U.S. 707 (1975)
• Demarest v. Manspeaker · 498 U.S. 184 (1991)
• Department of Revenue of Ore. v. ACF Industries, Inc. · 510 U.S. 332 (1994)

Cited by

Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.

• McDonnell v. United States · 579 U.S. 550 (2016)
• Dolan v. United States Postal Service · 546 U.S. 481 (2006)
• Iancu v. Brunetti · 588 U.S. 388 (2019)
• Atlantic Richfield Co. v. Christian · 590 U.S. 1 (2020)
• Stenberg v. Carhart · 530 U.S. 914 (2000)
• Global Crossing Telecommunications, Inc. v. Metrophones Telecommunications, Inc. · 550 U.S. 45 (2007)
• Fischer v. United States · 603 U.S. 480 (2024)
• Ysleta del Sur Pueblo v. Texas · 596 U.S. 685 (2022)
• Bondi v. Vanderstok · 604 U.S. 458 (2025)
• Food & Drug Administration v. Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp. · 529 U.S. 120 (2000)
• Jones v. United States · 527 U.S. 373 (1999)
• Geier v. American Honda Motor Co. · 529 U.S. 861 (2000)
• United States v. Taylor · 596 U.S. 845 (2022)
• Gonzales v. Oregon · 546 U.S. 243 (2006)
• Babbitt v. Sweet Home Chapter, Communities for Great Ore. · 515 U.S. 687 (1995)
• Ragsdale v. Wolverine World Wide, Inc. · 535 U.S. 81 (2002)
• Taniguchi v. Kan Pacific Saipan, Ltd. · 566 U.S. 560 (2012)
• United States v. Wells · 519 U.S. 482 (1997)
• At&T Corp. v. Iowa Utilities Board · 525 U.S. 366 (1999)
• Graham County Soil & Water Conservation District v. United States Ex Rel. Wilson · 559 U.S. 280 (2010)
• Sprietsma v. Mercury Marine · 537 U.S. 51 (2002)
• Roberts v. Sea-Land Services, Inc. · 566 U.S. 93 (2012)
• Watson v. United States · 552 U.S. 74 (2007)
• South Dakota v. Yankton Sioux Tribe · 522 U.S. 329 (1998)
• United States v. Balsys · 524 U.S. 666 (1998)
• Biden v. Texas · 597 U.S. 785 (2022)
• S. D. Warren Co. v. Maine Board of Environmental Protection · 547 U.S. 370 (2006)
• Morse v. Republican Party of Virginia · 517 U.S. 186 (1996)
• Slack Technologies, LLC v. Pirani · 598 U.S. 759 (2023)
• Thompson v. United States · 604 U.S. 408 (2025)

Official text

Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1995). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-07-03. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).