SEC v. W. J. Howey Co. · US Supreme Court · 1946

Is a piece of an orange grove a security?

Short answer: Yes: it's an investment contract.

The facts. A Florida company sold strips of orange grove, along with a service contract to farm the land and sell the fruit. Buyers, mostly tourists, did nothing and shared the profits. The SEC said this was selling securities.

The ruling. SEC v. W. J. Howey Co. (1946): The Court held the deals were investment contracts, setting a test still used: money in a common enterprise with profits from others' efforts.

The Howey test now decides whether a crypto token is a security. Not bad for a citrus company in Florida.

Read the source

For fun, not legal advice.