Revisiting McGirt: New Legal Developments Challenge Oklahoma’s Landmark Ruling
In a pair of orders issued this month, the U.S. Supreme Court signaled plans to provide further guidance in its upcoming Fall term concerning application of the heightened standard for pleading securities fraud claims...more
On June 5, the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit vacated a US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Rule designed to provide investors in private funds — such as private equity, private credit, hedge funds, venture...more
The U.S. Supreme Court will decide whether the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) in-house enforcement proceedings violate the Constitution, teeing up a decision that could curtail securities law enforcement and...more
With the end of the Supreme Court’s term in June, most eyes have been on the release of the last remaining merits decisions. In the midst of issuing the final opinions of the term, the Court also granted certiorari on a...more
U.S. Supreme Court resolves circuit split created by Ninth Circuit decision which had held that traceability not required in the context of a direct listing. By requiring traceability, the Supreme Court cabins strict...more
Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court paved a path for petitioners to assert constitutional challenges to the structure of U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and U.S. Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) administrative...more
The Supreme Court held today that constitutional challenges to administrative agencies’ structure can be brought in federal district court and need not be raised through an administrative proceeding with subsequent appellate...more
The constitutional spotlight is shining on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). In the last several weeks, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear a case seeking broader federal jurisdiction for constitutional...more
Garcia Case Highlights Necessity of Knowing Your Customer and Listening to Internal Fraud Watchdogs. The SEC’s recent Order against a broker-dealer (the “Firm”) imposed a $750,000 financial penalty for the Firm’s failure...more
The SEC’s authority to seek disgorgement has been a spotlight issue for the last several years, and on June 22, 2020, the Supreme Court delivered a highly anticipated ruling that will have a mixed impact. On one hand, the...more
In an 8-1 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled this past Monday in Liu v. SEC that a disgorgement award that does not exceed a wrongdoer’s net profits and is used to compensate victims is “equitable relief” that the SEC can...more
On March 3, 2020, the Supreme Court heard arguments in the case of Liu v. SEC, No. 18-1501. This article summarizes what transpired at the hearing, in which the arguments centered on a challenge to the ability of the U.S....more
The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments in Liu v. SEC, a case in which the petitioner challenged the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) statutory authority to pursue the remedy of disgorgement in federal court....more
Liu v. SEC, No. 18-15-1, argued before the Court last week, is potentially one of the most important cases to be heard by the Supreme Court on SEC Enforcement. The question under consideration is whether the Securities and...more
On Tuesday, the Supreme Court heard oral argument in Liu v. SEC, which concerns whether, or to what extent, the SEC may ask courts to disgorge defendants’ ill-gotten gains. As I discussed in a previous post, disgorgement...more
On March 3, 2020, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Liu v. SEC, once again taking up the question of whether the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) may seek disgorgement as equitable relief for a securities...more
The SEC and DOJ recently received positive news in two enforcement actions that had been challenged on grounds of extraterritoriality. These cases illustrate the ongoing judicial efforts to define the extraterritorial reach...more
• The Supreme Court will review whether the SEC has the authority to obtain disgorgement in actions to enforce the federal securities laws. • Since the Supreme Court’s decision in Kokesh v. SEC, 137 S. Ct. 1635 (2017),...more
The Situation: The U.S. Supreme Court has granted certiorari to consider whether the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") has authority to obtain disgorgement in district court actions. The Significance: The SEC...more
The Supreme Court granted certiorari in a case that may well have a very significant impact on the remedies available in Commission enforcement actions: Liu v. Securities and Exchange Commission, No. 18-1501 (Cert. granted...more
The Supreme Court has granted certiorari to decide whether the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission can seek and obtain disgorgement from a court as a remedy for a securities violation. A decision that the SEC does not...more
The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case that challenges the SEC’s authority to pursue disgorgement in civil enforcement actions. Key Points: ..The upcoming case will resolve a split of authority on whether the SEC...more
On November 1, 2019, the United States Supreme Court granted a writ of certiorari in Liu v. SEC, No. 18-1501, to address whether the Securities and Exchange Commission may obtain disgorgement in civil injunctive actions filed...more
This quarter’s issue includes summaries and associated court opinions of selected cases principally decided between May 2018 and August 2018.... US Supreme Court - Supreme Court Holds That SEC Administrative Law Judges...more
“The distinction between primary and secondary liability matters...For decades...the SEC has tried to erase that distinction...” Lorenzo v. SEC, 872 F. 3d 578, 601 (D.C. Cir. 2017) (Kavenaugh, Circuit Judge, dissenting). ...more