Supreme Court Limits SEC’s Authority to Disgorge Ill-Gotten Gains in Civil Suits

On Monday, the Supreme Court placed significant limits on the Securities and Exchange Commission’s ability to seek disgorgement, a powerful tool that often was used more like a penalty than an equitable remedy.  The Supreme Court held the SEC may only seek disgorgement of ill-gotten gains that do not exceed a wrongdoer’s net profits and are awarded for victims under 15 U.S.C.