United Housing Foundation, Inc., et al. v. Forman et al.

Decided June 16, 1975. Lewis Franklin Powell Jr. delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 74-157 · 421 U.S. 837 (1975) · Cited 908 times

Holding

The shares of stock involved in this litigation do not constitute 'securities' within the purview of the Securities Acts, and since respondents' claims are not cognizable in federal court, the District Court properly dismissed their complaint.

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.

“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.

• Securities & Exchange Commission v. C. M. Joiner Leasing Corp. · 320 U.S. 344 (1943)
• Tcherepnin v. Knight · 389 U.S. 332 (1967)
• Securities and Exchange Commission v. W. J. Howey Co. · 328 U.S. 293 (1946)
• Securities & Exchange Commission v. Variable Annuity Life Insurance · 359 U.S. 65 (1959)
• United States v. American Trucking Associations · 310 U.S. 534 (1940)
• Affiliated Ute Citizens of Utah v. United States · 406 U.S. 128 (1972)
• Ford Motor Co. v. Department of Treasury · 323 U.S. 459 (1945)
• Church of the Holy Trinity v. United States · 143 U.S. 457 (1892)
• Securities & Exchange Commission v. Capital Gains Research Bureau, Inc. · 375 U.S. 180 (1963)
• Parden v. Terminal Railway of Alabama State Docks Department · 377 U.S. 184 (1964)
• Great Northern Life Insurance Co. v. Read · 322 U.S. 47 (1944)
• Investment Company Institute v. Camp · 401 U.S. 617 (1971)
• Kennecott Copper Corp. v. State Tax Commission · 327 U.S. 573 (1946)
• Reliance Electric Co. v. Emerson Electric Co. · 404 U.S. 418 (1972)
• Saxbe v. Bustos · 419 U.S. 65 (1974)

Cited by

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

• Landreth Timber Co. v. Landreth · 471 U.S. 681 (1985)
• International Brotherhood of Teamsters v. Daniel · 439 U.S. 551 (1979)
• Reves v. Ernst & Young · 494 U.S. 56 (1990)
• Securities & Exchange Commission v. Edwards · 540 U.S. 389 (2004)
• Randall v. Loftsgaarden · 478 U.S. 647 (1986)
• Marine Bank v. Weaver · 455 U.S. 551 (1982)
• Bowen v. Yuckert · 482 U.S. 137 (1987)
• General Electric Co. v. Gilbert · 429 U.S. 125 (1976)
• Aaron v. Securities & Exchange Commission · 446 U.S. 680 (1980)
• Anderson Bros. Ford v. Valencia · 452 U.S. 205 (1981)
• Securities Industry Ass'n v. Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System · 468 U.S. 137 (1984)

Official text

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

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1975). 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).