Kern County Land Co. v. Occidental Petroleum Corp.
Decided May 7, 1973. Byron Raymond White delivered the opinion of the Court.
Docket 71-1059 · 411 U.S. 582 (1973) · Cited 238 times
Holding
The transactions, which were not based on a statutory insider's information and were not susceptible of the speculative abuse that 16(b) was designed to prevent, did not constitute 'sales' within the meaning of that provision.
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 6–3.
Majority · 6
- Byron Raymond White · delivered the opinion of the Court
- Harry Andrew Blackmun
- Lewis Franklin Powell Jr.
- Thurgood Marshall
- Warren Earl Burger
- William Hubbs Rehnquist
Dissenting · 3
- Potter Stewart
- William Joseph Brennan Jr.
- William Orville Douglas · filed a dissenting opinion
“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.
- Reliance Electric Co. v. Emerson Electric Co. · 404 U.S. 418 (1972)
- Securities & Exchange Commission v. National Securities, Inc. · 393 U.S. 453 (1969)
- White Motor Co. v. United States · 372 U.S. 253 (1963)
- Blau v. Lehman · 368 U.S. 403 (1962)
Cited by
Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.
- Foremost-McKeeson, Inc. v. Provident Securities Co. · 423 U.S. 232 (1976)
- Gollust v. Mendell · 501 U.S. 115 (1991)
- Ernst & Ernst v. Hochfelder · 425 U.S. 185 (1976)
- Musick, Peeler & Garrett v. Employers Ins. of Wausau · 508 U.S. 286 (1993)
Official text
Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)
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Byron Raymond White’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court
Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1973). 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).