Bob Reves, et al. v. Ernst & Young

Decided February 21, 1990. Thurgood Marshall delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 88-1480 · 494 U.S. 56 (1990) · Cited 433 times

Holding

The demand notes issued by the Co-Op fall under the "note" category of instruments that are "securities."

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.

• Landreth Timber Co. v. Landreth · 471 U.S. 681 (1985)
• United Housing Foundation, Inc. v. Forman · 421 U.S. 837 (1975)
• Securities Industry Ass'n v. Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System · 468 U.S. 137 (1984)
• Securities and Exchange Commission v. W. J. Howey Co. · 328 U.S. 293 (1946)
• Marine Bank v. Weaver · 455 U.S. 551 (1982)
• Tcherepnin v. Knight · 389 U.S. 332 (1967)
• Securities & Exchange Commission v. C. M. Joiner Leasing Corp. · 320 U.S. 344 (1943)
• Roadway Express, Inc. v. Piper · 447 U.S. 752 (1980)
• Shearson/American Express Inc. v. McMahon · 482 U.S. 220 (1987)
• Lorillard v. Pons · 434 U.S. 575 (1978)
• Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians v. Holyfield · 490 U.S. 30 (1989)
• International Brotherhood of Teamsters v. Daniel · 439 U.S. 551 (1979)
• De Sylva v. Ballentine · 351 U.S. 570 (1956)
• Square D Co. v. Niagara Frontier Tariff Bureau, Inc. · 476 U.S. 409 (1986)
• Gilbert v. United States · 370 U.S. 650 (1962)

Cited by

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

• Securities & Exchange Commission v. Edwards · 540 U.S. 389 (2004)
• Robers v. United States · 572 U.S. 639 (2014)
• Central Bank of Denver, N. A. v. First Interstate Bank of Denver, N. A. · 511 U.S. 164 (1994)
• Gustafson v. Alloyd Co. · 513 U.S. 561 (1995)
• Reves v. Ernst & Young · 507 U.S. 170 (1993)
• Republican Party of Minnesota v. White · 536 U.S. 765 (2002)
• Scheidler v. National Organization for Women, Inc. · 537 U.S. 393 (2003)
• Gollust v. Mendell · 501 U.S. 115 (1991)

Official text

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

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1990). 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).