Bateman Eichler, Hill Richards, Inc. v. Berner et al.

Decided June 11, 1985. William Joseph Brennan Jr. delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 84-679 · 472 U.S. 299 (1985) · Cited 322 times

Holding

There is no basis at this stage of the litigation for applying the in pari delicto defense to bar respondents' action.

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 8–0.

“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.

• Perma Life Mufflers, Inc. v. International Parts Corp. · 392 U.S. 134 (1968)
• Blue Chip Stamps v. Manor Drug Stores · 421 U.S. 723 (1975)
• A. C. Frost & Co. v. Coeur D'Alene Mines Corp. · 312 U.S. 38 (1941)
• Herman & MacLean v. Huddleston · 459 U.S. 375 (1983)
• J. I. Case Co. v. Borak · 377 U.S. 426 (1964)
• Superintendent of Insurance of New York v. Bankers Life & Casualty Co. · 404 U.S. 6 (1971)
• McMullen v. Hoffman · 174 U.S. 639 (1899)

Cited by

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

• Pinter v. Dahl · 486 U.S. 622 (1988)
• Stoneridge Investment Partners, LLC v. Scientific-Atlanta, Inc. · 552 U.S. 148 (2008)
• Musick, Peeler & Garrett v. Employers Ins. of Wausau · 508 U.S. 286 (1993)
• Central Bank of Denver, N. A. v. First Interstate Bank of Denver, N. A. · 511 U.S. 164 (1994)
• Lampf, Pleva, Lipkind, Prupis & Petigrow v. Gilbertson · 501 U.S. 350 (1991)
• Randall v. Loftsgaarden · 478 U.S. 647 (1986)

Official text

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

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William Joseph Brennan Jr.’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court

Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1985). 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).