Sripetch v. SEC · ¶66

First, the SEC argued in this case that because disgorgement does nothing more than divest ill-gotten gains, it is “not a penalty and no Seventh Amendment right attaches.” Tr. of Oral Arg. 62. The SEC's conclusion does not follow from its premise that disgorgement is not a penalty. Many legal remedies that require jury trials under the Seventh Amendment are not penalties. Plenty of traditional remedies, such as relief in quasi-contract, replevin, or assumpsit, are plainly “legal” in nature, even though they provide restitution and are not penalties. See Great-West Life, 534 U. S., at 213, 215.In fact, the quintessential legal remedy requiring a jury trial—compensatory damages—is not a penalty at all; it simply makes the plaintiff whole for injuries that he should not have suffered in the first place. And, in any event, as the Court points out, there are substantial reasons to conclude…

preliminary print (page proof)
Source edition
Passage preview. Read in context for the complete text, notes and references.