Why Kokesh Really Matters

In this article published by Law360, Matthew Martens, Jaclyn Moyer and James Lux discuss the inevitable implication of the Supreme Court's reasoning in Kokesh v. SEC.

Excerpt:  For US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) enforcement practitioners, perhaps the blockbuster decision of the last US Supreme Court term was Kokesh v. SEC—but not for the reason that you might suspect. In Kokesh, the Supreme Court held that the disgorgement remedy, when sought by the SEC in an enforcement action, is a "penalty" subject to the five-year statute of limitations found in 28 U.S.C. § 2462. On its own terms, this is a significant decision, as the SEC each year obtains orders for disgorgement in amounts that far outstrip ordered monetary penalties. Read the article.