The Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu The leading online blog in the fields of corporate governance and financial regulation. Wed, 29 Jul 2026 11:32:06 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.5.8 https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/cropped-photography-4-e1706898544564-1-32x32.png Narrow Supreme Court Ruling Allows SEC to Obtain Disgorgement, But Leaves Questions Unresolved – The Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu 32 32 Narrow Supreme Court Ruling Allows SEC to Obtain Disgorgement, But Leaves Questions Unresolved https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu/2026/07/27/narrow-supreme-court-ruling-allows-sec-to-obtain-disgorgement-but-leaves-questions-unresolved/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=narrow-supreme-court-ruling-allows-sec-to-obtain-disgorgement-but-leaves-questions-unresolved https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu/2026/07/27/narrow-supreme-court-ruling-allows-sec-to-obtain-disgorgement-but-leaves-questions-unresolved/#respond Mon, 27 Jul 2026 11:30:15 +0000 https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu/?p=182383?d=20260724162441EDT Posted by Caitlyn Campbell, John Nowak, and Paul Helms, McDermott Will & Schulte, on Monday, July 27, 2026
Editor's Note:

Caitlyn Campbell, John Nowak, and Paul Helms are Partners at McDermott Will & Schulte. This post is based on a McDermott memorandum by Ms. Campbell, Mr. Nowak, and Mr. Helms, and Gabriel Gross.

Overview

On June 4, 2026, the Supreme Court in Sripetch v. SEC unanimously held that the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) need not prove that investors suffered a pecuniary loss before obtaining disgorgement. In doing so, the Court resolved a circuit split between the US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit and the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (both of which permitted disgorgement absent proof of investor losses) and the Second Circuit (which required such a showing). The Supreme Court’s decision, however, was notably narrow and left unresolved several significant questions concerning the scope and constitutional status of the SEC’s disgorgement authority, creating investigation and litigation opportunities for defendants.

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