Constitutional Accountability Center Constitutional Accountability Center
Corporate Accountability

RELEASE: Justices Lean Toward Recognizing Courts’ Power To Order Disgorgement

“The Justices barely discussed whether courts have disgorgement authority at all. Rather, the argument focused on whether the Court should impose any reasonable limits on the amount of disgorgement that can be imposed.” — CAC Appellate Counsel Ashwin Phatak

WASHINGTON – Following oral argument at the Supreme Court this morning in Liu v. SEC, Constitutional Accountability Center Appellate Counsel Ashwin Phatak, present for today’s proceedings, issued the following reaction:

After this morning’s argument, it seems that the Justices will recognize, as they should, that district courts have the authority to order violators of the nation’s securities laws to turn over their ill-gotten gains. As even counsel for Liu acknowledged during today’s argument, multiple laws are premised on the existence of disgorgement authority, and those provisions would make no sense if courts could not order disgorgement. Indeed, it was notable that the Justices barely discussed whether courts have disgorgement authority at all. Rather, the argument focused on whether the Court should impose any reasonable limits on the amount of disgorgement that can be imposed.

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Resources:

CAC case page in Liu v. SEC: https://www.theusconstitution.org/litigation/liu-v-sec/

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Constitutional Accountability Center is a think tank, public interest law firm, and action center dedicated to fulfilling the progressive promise of the Constitution’s text and history. Visit CAC’s website at www.theusconstitution.org.

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