Basic Incorporated v. Max L. Levinson

485 U.S. 224 · Decided March 7, 1988 · Supreme Court of the United States

At a glance

Basic Incorporated v. Max L. Levinson was decided on March 7, 1988 by a vote of 4–2. The Court vacated the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice Harry A. Blackmun wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Securities regulation” in the Economic Activity area.

Read the opinion

• CourtListener (Free Law Project) — opinion text
• Library of Congress — official U.S. Reports scan

Case details

How the Justices voted

Did not participate: William H. Rehnquist, Antonin Scalia, Anthony M. Kennedy.

Full case caption

Basic Incorporated, et al. v. Max L. Levinson et al.

SCDB identifiers: case 1987-046, docket 1987-046-01.

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Cases on the same legal provision: Securities Act of 1933, Securities Exchange Act of 1934, or Williams Act

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Same Term, same area (Economic Activity)

• Gwaltney of Smithfield, Ltd. v. Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Inc.
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Source: Supreme Court Database, 2026 Release 01 (data file dated September 8, 2026). Imported into CaseTrail November 5, 2026. Coverage: decisions from the 1946 through 2025 Terms. Methodology · Report an error