Nov. 13, 2025
Why the Supreme Court should revisit SEC disgorgement remedy
Five years after Liu v. SEC, courts remain split on how to apply its limits on disgorgement, leaving the SEC's most potent remedy in need of Supreme Court clarification.
Thomas A. Zaccaro
Senior Counsel
Hueston Hennigan LLP
Phone: (213) 788-4039
Email: tzaccaro@hueston.com
Boston College Law School
Thomas is a partner in the firm's Litigation Department. He served as regional trial counsel in the SEC's Los Angeles office.
Disgorgement of ill-gotten gains is one of the SEC's most powerful remedies. In its last fiscal year, the SEC obtained a whopping $6.1 billion in disgorgement and prejudgment interest. While disgorgement is intended to be an equitable remedy, the courts have struggled with confining disgorgement to equitable principles.
In a landmark decision five years ago, the Supreme Court reshaped the contours of disgorgement in SEC enforcement actions. See Liu v....
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