New Justice Neil Gorsuch's first foray into securities class action law on the U.S. Supreme Court came on his first day on the bench Monday. Though he did not tip his hand explicitly, he showed less sympathy for plaintiffs than for defendants.

His predecessor, the late Antonin Scalia, usually expressed similar preferences, so the court may be ready to take on class action reforms again.

The case before the court, California Public Employees' Retirement System v. ANZ Securities, dealt with a narrow issue of deadlines for initiating litigation. But it comes up when investors seek to opt out of settlements and sue issuers individually for false information in registrations.