Baker et al., Trustees in Reorganization v. Gold Seal Liquors, Inc.

Decided June 17, 1974. William Orville Douglas delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 73-804 · 417 U.S. 467 (1974) · Cited 300 times

Holding

The Court of Appeals erred in allowing the setoff, since it thereby granted a preference to the claim of one creditor that happened to owe freight charges over other creditors that did not, and thus interfered with the Reorganization Court's duty under 77e, 11 U.S.C.

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 8–1.

“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.

• New Haven Inclusion Cases · 399 U.S. 392 (1970)
• Callaway v. Benton · 336 U.S. 132 (1949)
• Ex Parte Baldwin · 291 U.S. 610 (1934)
• Moore v. New York Cotton Exchange · 270 U.S. 593 (1926)
• Continental Illinois National Bank & Trust Co. v. Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Ry. Co. · 294 U.S. 648 (1935)
• Thompson v. Magnolia Petroleum Co. · 309 U.S. 478 (1940)
• Isaacs v. Hobbs Tie & Timber Co. · 282 U.S. 734 (1931)
• Consolidated Rock Products Co. v. Du Bois · 312 U.S. 510 (1941)
• Group of Institutional Investors v. Chicago, M., St. P. & P.R. Co., and 9 Other Cases · 318 U.S. 523 (1943)
• Cumberland Glass Manufacturing Co. v. De Witt & Co. · 237 U.S. 447 (1915)
• Ecker v. Western Pacific R. Corp. · 318 U.S. 448 (1943)
• Kansas City Terminal Railway Co. v. Central Union Trust Co. · 271 U.S. 445 (1926)

Cited by

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

• Kokkonen v. Guardian Life Insurance Co. of America · 511 U.S. 375 (1994)
• Commodity Futures Trading Commission v. Schor · 478 U.S. 833 (1986)

Official text

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

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1974). 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).