Section 2

Citation: Section 2
Parent Document: United Housing Foundation, Inc. v. Forman, 421 U.S. 837 (1975)
Jurisdiction: United States (federal)
Effective Date: 1975-10-06
Original Source: https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/109272/united-housing-foundation-inc-v-forman/ ↗

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In the present case respondents do not contend, nor could they, that they were misled by use of the word “stock” into believing that the federal securities laws governed their purchase. Common sense suggests that people who intend to acquire only a residential apartment in a state-subsidized cooperative, for their personal use, are not likely to believe that in reality they are purchasing investment securities simply because the transaction is evidenced by something called a share of stock. These shares have none of the characteristics “that in our commercial world fall within the ordinary concept of a security.” H. R. Rep. No. 85, supra, at 11. Despite their name, they lack what the Court in Tcherepnin deemed the most common feature of stock: the right to receive “dividends contingent upon an apportionment of profits.” 389 U. S., at 339. Nor do they possess the other characteristics traditionally associated with stock: they are not negotiable; they cannot be pledged or hypothecated; they confer no voting rights in proportion to the number of shares owned; and they cannot appreciate in value. In short, the inducement to purchase was solely to acquire subsidized low-cost living space; it was not to invest for profit. B

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