 Justice Frank Murphy, writing for the majority, identified the major legal issue in this case as whether or not the contracts that Howey was selling (which were basically leaseback agreements) constituted an "investment contract" within the meaning of § 2(a)(1) of the Securities Act of 1933.Murphy reasoned that while the term "investment contract" was left undefined by the Act, it had been used in state blue sky laws to cover a broad array of contracts and other schemes to raise capital in a way to secure some income or profit from the use thereof.Thus, the Court concluded that Congress had written the term into the statute in recognition of its previously adopted common law meaning.