Cite as: 508 U. S. 286 (1993)
Opinion of the Court
Sections 9 and 18 contain nearly identical express provisions for a right to contribution, each permitting a defendant to "recover contribution as in cases of contract from any person who, if joined in the original suit, would have been liable to make the same payment." 15 U. S. C. §§ 78i(e) and 78r(b). These were forward-looking provisions at the time. The course of tort law in this century has been to reverse the old rule against contribution, but this movement has been confined in large part to actions in negligence. 3 F. Harper, F. James, & O. Gray, Law of Torts § 10.2, p. 42, and n. 10 (2d ed. 1986). The express contribution provisions in §§ 9 and 18 were, and still are, cited as important precedents because they permit contribution for intentional torts. See id., § 10.2, p. 43, and n. 11; Ruder, Multiple Defendants in Securities Law Fraud Cases, 120 U. Pa. L. Rev. 597, 650-651 (1972). We think that these explicit provisions for contribution are an important, not an inconsequential, feature of the federal securities laws and that consistency requires us to adopt a like contribution rule for the right of action existing under Rule 10b-5. Given the identity of purpose behind §§ 9, 10(b), and 18, and similarity in their operation, we find no ground for ruling that allowing contribution in 10b-5 actions will frustrate the purposes of the statutory section from which it is derived.
Our conclusion is consistent with the rule adopted by the vast majority of Courts of Appeals and District Courts that have considered the question. See, e. g., In re Jiffy Lube Securities Litigation, 927 F. 2d, at 160; Smith v. Mulvaney, 827 F. 2d, at 560; Sirota v. Solitron Devices, Inc., 673 F. 2d, at 578; Huddleston v. Herman & MacLean, 640 F. 2d, at 557-559; Heizer Corp. v. Ross, 601 F. 2d, at 331-334; In re National Student Marketing Litigation, 517 F. Supp. 1345, 1346-1349 (DC 1981); B & B Investment Club v. Kleinert's, Inc., 391 F. Supp. 720, 724 (ED Pa. 1975); Globus, Inc. v. Law Research Service, Inc., 318 F. Supp. 955, 957-958 (SDNY 1970), aff'd per curiam, 442 F. 2d 1346 (CA2), cert. denied,
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