Securities & Exchange Commission v. Ralston Purina Co.
346 U.S. 119 · Decided June 8, 1953 · Supreme Court of the United States
Record summary. This page is generated from the Supreme Court Database’s coded data about the case. It describes who decided what, not the Court’s reasoning. Read the opinion itself before relying on it. Not legal advice.
At a glance
Securities & Exchange Commission v. Ralston Purina Co. was decided on June 8, 1953 by a vote of 6–2. The Court reversed the lower court's decision. Justice Tom C. Clark wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Securities regulation” in the Economic Activity area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 346 U.S. 119 · 73 S. Ct. 981 · 97 L. Ed. 2d 1494 · 1953 U.S. LEXIS 2688
- Docket number
- 512
- Decided
- June 8, 1953
- Argued
- April 28, 1953
- Court era
- Vinson Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Reversed
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 6–2
- Majority opinion
- Tom C. Clark
- Opinion assigned by
- Hugo L. Black
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Securities regulation
- Issue area
- Economic Activity
- Legal provision
- Securities Act of 1933, Securities Exchange Act of 1934, or Williams Act
- Type of law
- Federal statute
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Hugo L. Black | Majority | |
| Justice Stanley F. Reed | Majority | |
| Justice Felix Frankfurter | Majority | |
| Justice William O. Douglas | Majority | |
| Justice Harold H. Burton | Dissent | |
| Chief Justice Fred M. Vinson | Dissent | |
| Justice Tom C. Clark | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Sherman Minton | Majority |
Did not participate: Robert H. Jackson.
Full case caption
Securities & Exchange Commission v. Ralston Purina Co.
SCDB identifiers: case 1952-105, docket 1952-105-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Securities regulation”
- Wilko v. Swan
- General Protective Committee for the Holders of Option Warrants of the United Corporation v. Securities and Exchange Commission
- Securities and Exchange Commission v. Drexel & Co.
- Niagara Hudson Power Corp. v. Leventritt
- Securities and Exchange Commission v. Central-Illinois Securities Corp.
- Securities and Exchange Commission v. Variable Annuity Life Insurance Co. of America
Cases on the same legal provision: Securities Act of 1933, Securities Exchange Act of 1934, or Williams Act
- General American Investors Co., Inc. v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue
- Silver v. New York Stock Exchange
- Mills v. Electric Auto-Lite Co.
- Gordon v. New York Stock Exchange, Inc.
- Radzanower v. Touche Ross & Co.
- Leroy v. Great Western United Corp.
Same Term, same area (Economic Activity)
- Sanford v. Kepner
- Lloyd A. Fry Roofing Co. v. Wood
- F. W. Woolworth Co. v. Contemporary Arts, Inc.
- Steele v. Bulova Watch Co., Inc.
- American Trucking Associations, Inc. v. United States
- Pennsylvania Railroad Co. v. O'Rourke
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