1、CRS Legal Sidebar Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress Legal SidebarLegal Sidebari i Liu v. SEC: The Supreme Court to Consider Whether Disgorgement is an Equitable Remedy in SEC Enforcement Actions Updated March 9, 2020 Disgorgement is a remedy that requires securities law violators to gi
2、ve up “ill-gotten gains,” or gross proceeds, from illegal conduct. In Liu v. Securities and Exchange Commission, which was argued on March 3, 2020, the Supreme Court heard argument as to whether federal securities laws authorize federal courts to employ disgorgement as a remedy in SEC enforcement ac
3、tions. The SEC has long maintained that disgorgement is available to it as an equitable remedy under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (Exchange Act), along with its ability to seek civil monetary penalties and other statutory relief. Over the past fifty years, federal courts have frequently award
4、ed disgorgement to the SEC as a remedy for securities law violations. A decision in Liu adverse to the SEC may have significant consequences for that agency and others, potentially barring a favored remedy. This Legal Sidebar examines Liu and its implications for the disgorgement remedy in federal a
