Client Alert: Supreme Court Holds That SEC’s Power to Obtain Equitable Relief Includes Disgorgement of Wrongdoers’ Net Profits but Leaves Important Questions Open Regarding Its Scope

On June 21, 2020, the United States Supreme Court held that disgorgement of a wrongdoer’s net profits in an SEC enforcement action qualifies as “equitable relief” authorized by the Securities and Exchange Act (“Act”), 15 U.S.C. § 78a, et seq.  Liu v. Securities and Exchange Comm’n, No. 18-1501, 2020 WL 3405845, 591 U.S. --- (2020). This Client Alert, written by James J. Boland, details what that means for investors.