Borden’s Farm Products Co., Inc. v. Ten Eyck
United States Supreme Court
297 U.S. 251 (1936)
- Written by Sean Carroll, JD
Facts
New York (defendant) passed a statute prescribing the minimum price for milk. The statute permitted off-brand milk to be priced one cent per quart lower than name-brand milk. The statute was temporary, intended to stabilize the milk market during the Great Depression. Borden’s Farms Company, Inc. (plaintiff), which sold name-brand milk, brought suit. Borden’s claimed that the statute violated its right to equal protection under the laws guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment. Over the approximately two years prior to the enactment of the statute, name-brand milk was sold, on average, at prices at least one cent per quart higher than off-brand milk. This price difference resulted from market forces due to name-brand milk dealers heavily advertising their milk. The lower courts ruled that the statute was constitutional. The United States Supreme Court granted certiorari.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Roberts, J.)
Dissent (Reynolds, J.)
What to do next…
Here's why 812,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
- Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,300 briefs, keyed to 988 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
- The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
- Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
- Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.
