A comparison of lawsuits

Private class-action lawsuits in the federal courts have brought in $42 billion this decade to investors and their attorneys, triple what federal regulators have collected. The year-by-year figures for private lawsuit awards vs. Securities and Exchange Commission fines and illicit profit recoveries:

Year Private lawsuits awards SEC fines and recoveries

2000 4.9 billion 488 million

2001 1.9 billion 522 million

2002 2.8 billion 1.4 billion

2003 2.5 billion 2 billion

2004 3.3 billion 3.1 billion

2005 9.4 billion 3.1 billion

2006 17.2 billion 3.3 billion

Note: Private lawsuit awards are for calendar years. SEC fines and recoveries are for fiscal years ending on Sept. 30.

Includes $6.2 billion from the scandal at WorldCom Inc.

Includes a $6.6 billion partial settlement of claims in the Enron scandal.

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Sources: SEC, The Stanford Law School Securities Class Action Clearinghouse in cooperation with Cornerstone Research.