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Announcements Consumer

Legal-Bay Announces Expanded Funding For Sexual Abuse Victims

ALBANY, N.Y., Feb. 11, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Legal-Bay, the premier pre-settlement lawsuit funding source, reports that Governor Cuomo assisted in passing a legislation to extend filing deadlines for sexual abuse survivors in the state of New York (A.8401-C/S.8977).
The new legislation, also known as The Sexual Assault Victim Bill of Rights, provides survivors with information regarding their care and treatment, affords them health care services at no cost, and allows them to receive updates regarding any DNA test results, evidence kits, and status of their case. Notifying victims of their legal rights will help ensure survivors receive the information they need to navigate complicated medical and criminal justice systems.
Chris Janish, CEO of Legal-Bay says, "The new law in NY is long overdue and was highly contested by the Catholic Church for years. We applaud NY for finally getting this done to protect all victims of past sexual abuses – and holding predators accountable both criminally and civilly." The law will take effect this summer and will enable sexual abuse victims to file criminal charges until they reach age 28 and civil cases until age 55. Because of this landmark decision, Legal-Bay predicts an influx of new filings into NY courts by the end of 2019. Legal-Bay has been a leader in assisting victims of sexual abuse get the pre settlement funding they need while they fight their cases. Legal-Bay estimates over a million adolescents have been subject to sexual abuse in the last 30 years. Legal-Bay's funding programs include car and truck accidents, slip and fall cases, medical malpractice, construction accidents, wrongful termination and discrimination cases, and all other personal injury cases. Their pre settlement programs are non-recourse, no-risk lawsuit cash advances, also known as case funding. None of the programs should be considered to be a settlement loan, settlement loans, lawsuit loan, lawsuit loans, pre-settlement loans, or a pre-settlement loan, as the money does not need to be paid back if you ultimately lose your case. To apply now for lawsuit settlement funding go to the company's website at: http://lawsuitssettlementfunding.com or call the company's toll free intake line at: 877.571.0405 where agents are standing by. SOURCE Legal-Bay LLC

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Commercial

German Court Rules Litigation Funder Cannot Collect Earnings in Telecomm Case

Germany has been at the forefront of litigation funding in the EU for some time. Ever since FORIS-AG became the first dedicated funder there, numerous global funders, including Burford Capital which recently partnered with the law firm Hausfeld on a portfolio funding arrangement, have made inroads into Germany. But a recent decision by a German court places doubt as to the circumstances in which litigation funders can collect earnings on cases they finance. As reported in JD Supra, in September of last year, the German Federal Court of Justice ruled that a litigation funder cannot claim earnings in a "confiscation of profits" claim against a telecomm company. "Confiscation of profits" is a type of claim under German law where an entity - in this case, a consumer rights advocacy group - seeks to compel the court to confiscate the profits of a company it claims obtained those profits under unlawful means. The trial court did find that the telecomm company in question indeed acted unlawfully, and ordered profits to be confiscated. However, the Federal Court ruled the trial court's finding inadmissible, given that the non-profit consumer rights group used litigation funding to finance its case, and therefore a portion of the profits collected from the telecomm company would go to the litigation funder. While the Federal Court's finding does not endanger the use of litigation funding in civil proceedings - which remains fully legal in Germany - it does send a message to all funders operating in the jurisdiction that they should not attempt to finance a 'confiscation of profits'  claim brought by a non-profit organization.
Consumer Special Features

SPONSORED POST: No Loan? No Problem. Law Firm Funding to the Rescue!

“The more money our clients invest in advertising, the bigger their firms get, and (consequently) they keep returning for more capital.”

- Joshua Collins, Chief Investment Officer of Attorney Capital Funding, on why his company is currently experiencing such massive growth.

Since its inception in late 2005, Attorney Capital Funding (in conjunction with the Xpress Capital Group family of companies) has procured $160MM in financing for over 11,000 customers. The company generates opportunities for small and large law firms, as well as solo attorneys who can’t seek out traditional financing via a bank or credit union. Some have been declined by their banks, and others simply need a way to obtain financing without tapping their personal credit profile. We empower these attorneys by allowing them to collateralize their portfolios based on future valuation, instead of limiting them by their historical income. In short, we care more about where you’re going than where you’ve been. Question: “How is a bank better than you guys?” Clearly, banks charge less than a family office, hedge fund or other private equity group would. So, I always tell attorneys that if they can get approved by their banks, ‘OF COURSE, don’t use us or any alternative finance vehicle.’ We do not and never will attempt to compete with banks. They are good at what they do. Banks offer a small percentage of applicants less funding than what they request; but it costs less to use a bank than alternative financing. However, if you can get approval for traditional financing, don’t use any of us in this space. Question: “Who benefits the most from your funding?” Most attorneys report that they can see $7 or $8 back for every dollar invested in advertising. Attorneys who understand advertising/marketing should take advantage of our funding solutions. So, even though our funding costs more than that of a bank, at the end of the day it’s worth it because a) attorneys are going to write off their cost, and b) attorneys are receiving back a multiple of what they are investing. Also, an attorney who wants to expand his or her practice can benefit from investing in new staff members, or by opening a new location in order to handle more new business. Question: “How are your funding solutions better than those of a bank?”  Our intimate knowledge of the Legal Services industry allows us to base our client’s funding size on our future valuation of their portfolio, in contrast to banks that use past performance. Legal Services is an asymmetric industry – revenue is not realized consistently. So when attorneys need to raise funds, it can benefit them to leverage the future valuation of their pipeline of cases, which can be substantially larger than past performance. We also allow attorneys to pledge some or all of their cases, so in the event they don’t prevail in a single matter, they have the assurance that they have multiple opportunities to make good on their commitments. Question: “How does the process work, and how long does it take to get approved?” The first step is to take 3-5 minutes and complete the Due Diligence Questionnaire (or “application”) at AttorneyCapitalFunding.com. The 2nd step is to complete our NDA. After the NDA has been fully-executed, we hold a brief introductory call in order to get to know you and your firm better. The final step is to go over any last-minute supporting documents before closing and initiating the wire transfer. After a client submits an application (Due Diligence Questionnaire, which takes 5-10 minutes to complete) and the NDA (which takes 1-3 minutes to complete), underwriting typically takes 3-4 business days. After approval, it takes just 1-2 business days to release the wire, dependent upon the time the law firm sends in their final, signed documents. Need New Portfolio Investment Opportunities? If you are an investment firm seeking investment opportunities regarding our client's portfolios, we would love to partner with you! In order to discuss working with us, please send an email to investmentopps@attorneycapitalfunding.com. We look forward to meeting you all. If you require any additional information, you may call Attorney Capital Funding at 877.927.4448. Additionally, you may text or call either of the contacts listed below, and either Joshua or Michael will be happy to discuss your funding options. Joshua Collins Chief Investment Officer jcollins@attorneycapitalfunding.com Cell: 850.485.0599 Michael Kellison Chief Personal Assistant mkellison@attorneycapitalfunding.com Cell: 727.225.4480 Attorney Capital Funding 13801 N. Florida Avenue Suite C Tampa, FL 33613 877.927.4448
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Announcements Commercial

Litigation and Disputes funder Augusta launches Canadian practice

Augusta, the largest litigation and dispute funding institution in the UK – with £150m of capital and a team of 70 in London, today announces its expansion into the Canadian market with the opening of an office in Toronto. This complements Augusta’s existing operations in Sydney and London. As the market for funding of litigation and disputes has come into maturity around the world, there is growing acceptance of third-party funding as a route for claimants to seek justice, for lawyers to ensure certainty of fee income and to maximize flexibility of working capital. And with increasing geopolitical uncertainty, activity around litigation and disputes has grown also. The non-recourse nature of third-party funding provides certainty and peace of mind to claimants and their lawyers in otherwise unstable times. These trends on the ‘demand side’ are echoed on the ‘supply side’, with an increase in litigation funders joining stock markets and receiving substantial commitments from investors who recognise the specialist skills of such organisations. Augusta, for example, raised £150m in 2018, and all indications are that investment into well-managed funders will continue to increase in 2019, enabling more claims to be pursued with third-party support, at lower costs than were once tenable. Augusta’s Toronto office will be headed by Max Doyle, who re-joins Augusta. Max will be supported by several experienced members of Augusta’s London team. Louis Young, Managing Director of Augusta said: “We’re delighted to launch our Canadian operations today. 2018 was a strong year for Augusta, where we funded a record number of successful claims and raised significant capital. Our business model and operating platform allows us to finance claims of all sizes, and our underwriting discipline allows us to be a price leader in the markets that we operate in. We have been involved in the Canadian market for several years and we see Toronto as a logical first step in our growth plans for 2019.” Max Doyle, Head of Augusta Canada said: “I am delighted to be part of the expansion of Augusta’s operations into Canada where there is a growing and exciting litigation funding market. The company has been hugely successful in the UK, Europe and Australia and opening an office in North America was a logical next step. Augusta looks forward to introducing its creative and flexible funding solutions to the Canadian market. I am delighted to be part of this phase of the company’s growth.” About Augusta Ventures
  • Established in 2013, Augusta is the largest litigation and dispute funding institution in the UK – with £150m of capital and a team of 70 in London and 85 worldwide. Augusta’s scale enables us to make decisions in market-leading timeframes and fund cases of any size.
  • Augusta is organised into a series of specialist practice groups: Arbitration, Class Action, Competition, Consumer, Intellectual Property and Litigation, and sectors including Financial Services and Construction & Energy.
  • By the end of 2018, Augusta had funded 197 claims with a market leading win ratio of 80%.
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Announcements Commercial

Vannin Capital Expands in Sydney With New Managing Director

Vannin Capital, the global expert in legal finance, has today announced the appointment of Steven Taylor as a Managing Director in its Sydney office.

Steven joins Vannin from one of the pioneer companies of the global litigation funding industry, where he worked as a Litigation Manager responsible for managing funded claims to a resolution – work which entailed reviewing funding applications and negotiating funding agreements.

In addition to his expertise in legal finance, Steven holds extensive knowledge of the Australian corporate and commercial litigation landscape from his time spent as an Associate at Piper Alderman and Senior Associate at Squire Patton Boggs, where he was involved in several high-profile insolvency and class action cases, including claims against Lehman Brothers Australia Limited, on behalf of noteholders of the Octaviar Group and acting for applicants and group members in City of Swan & Ors v McGraw Hill Companies Inc in respect of alleged misrepresentations made by ratings agency, Standard & Poor’s.

Steven’s appointment marks the fifth senior addition to Vannin’s Australian team since its establishment in 2015. He joins a strong team of legal finance experts, including Regional Managing Director Patrick Coope – a former insolvency litigator who had established Australia’s first professional litigation funder in 1998 – as well as Tom McDonald, Pip Murphy and Adam Silverman who all joined as Managing Directors.

Commenting on the announcement, Vannin Capital CEO Richard Hextall said: “Steven’s appointment marks yet another step forward for Vannin’s growth in the Australian market. His impressive range of experience in litigation and legal finance means that he is ideally suited to playing an important role in helping to further develop our already first-class offering. We look forward to welcoming him to the team.”

Steven Taylor said: “The growth of the Australian litigation finance market in recent years has been remarkable, and Vannin’s impressive portfolio underscore its ambitions for growth in the region. I am excited to be joining a world-class team and to help the business continue on an upward trajectory.”

About Vannin Capital

Established in 2010, Vannin Capital is a global expert in the provision of funding to support individuals, corporate clients and law firms in the successful resolution of high-value litigation and arbitration claims.

From single case funding to portfolio finance, we offer creative capital solutions that are tailored to our clients’ needs. Our global team of legal and financial experts cover the key commercial litigation and arbitration centres from our offices in London, Jersey, Paris, Bonn, New York, Washington, Sydney and Melbourne.

More than just capital, we combine global experience with local knowledge to deliver a high standard of service and expertise to our clients around the world. A major player in the legal finance market, we are a member of the Association of Litigation Funders of England and Wales (ALF), conducting our business to a high standard in line with its code of conduct.

Vannin Capital Holdings Limited Registered in Jersey No. 121561

Registered Office Address:

13-14 Esplanade, St Helier Jersey, JE1 1BD

vannin.com

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Commercial

Global International Arbitration Centers Discuss Growth of Third Party Funding

Third party funding is now a global phenomenon, due mainly to its usage in international arbitration matters. But what exactly do the international arbitration institutions think of this rapidly-evolving Legal Services instrument? Read on to find out... As reported in Vannin Capital's latest Funding in Focus series, global arbitral institutions are continuing to recognize the lightning-fast growth of the industry. International arbitration centers from Spain to Brazil to Sweden to Colombia have all acknowledged growth in both the number of third party-funded cases being filed, as well as the enhanced awareness amongst counsel of the industry and its evolution. Two interesting drivers of this growth: an uptick in third party funding in investor-state disputes over the last five years, as well as the emergence of defense-side funding. Those two can even overlap, as was the case in Philip Morris v. Uruguay. The Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre predicts that defendants will continue to leverage third party funding in increasing numbers. Some institutions - like the London Court of International Arbitration - have adopted a 'wait and see' approach to third party funding, by choosing not to provide any comprehensive viewpoint on the practice. Other arbitration centers, however, including those in Paris and Dubai, have elected to take a proactive stance on the matter. The ICC France even went so far as to issue a best practice guide for industry adoption. It's worth noting that on the topic of disclosure, general consensus seems to be that a funder's identity should be disclosed in order to avoid any potential conflicts of interest, yet the funding agreement need not be disclosed. Of course, specific rules for each jurisdiction will vary. As pertains to another key issue of note - security for costs - no major arbitral institution has yet declared that the existence of a third party funder is grounds for an automatic security for costs application. Hong Kong has stated that courts 'may' take the existence of third party funding into consideration, but are under no obligation to issue a security for costs order. In sum, there seems to be a split amongst institutions on how best to handle the costs issue, with some openly declaring that third party funding should not automatically translate into a costs order, and others preferring a more hands-off approach, leaving it to the courts' discretion. As third party funding continues to evolve globally, arbitral institutions will evolve in tandem, given that the practice is so embedded in international arbitration, especially investor-state disputes. It will be interesting to see how each individual arbitral center responds to the most pressing issues relating to the rise of third party funding. At this point at least, there seems to be broad acceptance, general agreement on best practices, along with some differentiation on how proactive to be when issuing rules or guidelines.
Commercial

Russian Businessman Ordered to Put Up £1.5MM in Security for Costs to Protect Identity of Litigation Funder

Russian businessman Alexander Tugushev is suing the billionaire owner of Russia's largest fishing company, Norebo, claiming he should be granted 1/3 ownership of the estimated $1.5B company. Tugushev has been ordered by a London High Court to put up £1.5MM in security for costs to avoid disclosing the identity of his litigation funder. As reported in Undercurrent News, Tugushev is suing Vitaly Orlov, Owner and CEO of Norebo. For his part, Orlov has been claiming that Tugushev has ties to criminal organizations, including the leader of a Chechen organized crime gang. In October, 2018, Orlov issued a disclosure notice to the court seeking to ascertain exactly who is paying Tugushev's legal bills. Orlov's argument was that he wished to make a security for costs issuance directly against the funder. After a pair of hearings in December, Tugushev was ordered to put up £1.5MM - roughly half of what Orlov had been seeking - as security for costs. If Tugushev meets the deadline imposed by the court, he'll be able to keep the identity of his funder a secret. If Tugushev fails to put the £1.5MM up in time, his funder's name and address must be disclosed. Orlov maintains that Tugushev is trying to appropriate a portion of a successful business that he does not own - which many well-connected Russian oligarchs have been known to do in the past. The Russian offices of Norebo have been raided by police several times, and Orlov claims that he has faced a slew of death threats and harassment.  
Commercial

General Counsel from 30 Corporations Take Stand Against Litigation Funding

General counsel and senior litigators from 30 companies have come out against the litigation funding industry, asking the Advisory Committee on Civil Rules to mandate disclosure of all funding agreements in civil actions. 30 corporations have signed a letter which was sent to the Secretary for the Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure. The letter proposes an amendment to the Federal Rules on Civil Procedure 26(a)(1)(A) "to require in civil actions the disclosure of agreements giving a non-party or non-counsel the contingent right to receive compensation from proceeds of the litigation." The signatories argue that when a funder backs a lawsuit, it effectively becomes a 'real party' in the case, and that both defendants and the court have a right to know who has a stake in the lawsuit, and if ethical means of achieving success are being utilized. The signatories asset that they are not attempting to regulate litigation funding, and that "no harm would flow from requiring such basic transparency about who has invested in a lawsuit and the terms of that investment, at least none that could not be protected by the court, as the proposal contemplates." In the letter's final paragraph, the signatories even take a swipe at industry claims that the broader business community has been adopting litigation finance. The letter states: "Finally, we note that some litigation funders have contended that major companies are generally indifferent or opposed to such a disclosure requirement because corporate use of TPLF is allegedly widespread. No evidence has been proffered to support that assertion. Nor is it consistent with our experience." Below is a list of companies who signed the letter:
  • Allstate
  • AT&T
  • Bayer U.S.
  • BP America Inc.
  • Charles Schwab
  • Chevron
  • Comcast Corporation
  • CVS Health
  • Eli Lily and Company
  • Ford Motor Company
  • General Electric
  • GlaxoSmithKline LLC
  • Google
  • Home Depot
  • Honeywell
  • ITT Inc.
  • Johnson & Johnson
  • Liberty Mutual Insurance
  • MassMututal
  • Merck & Co., Inc.
  • Microsoft
  • Phillips66
  • RiverStone Group
  • RPM International, Inc.
  • Shell Oil Company
  • State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company
  • Verizon Wireless
  • Westfield
  • Zurich North America
Announcements Commercial

Keller Lenkner LLC Files Class Action Suit Against General Electric Company and H. Lawrence Culp, Jr.

CHICAGO, Feb. 1, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Keller Lenkner LLC today announced that it filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of all purchasers of securities of General Electric Company ("GE" or the "Company") (NYSE: GE) from October 12, 2018through and including October 29, 2018 (the "Class Period"). The action was filed in the Southern District of New Yorkand is captioned Birnbaum v. General Electric Company, et al., No. 1:19-cv-01013. The complaint alleges that GE and its Chief Executive Officer, H. Lawrence Culp, Jr., violated the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 by issuing false and misleading statements relating to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's (the "SEC") expanded investigation into the Company's accounting practices, including investigating GE's $23 billion goodwill impairment charge (the "Power Charge"). The Company announced the Power Charge on October 1, 2018, and the SEC investigation began shortly after. The Company revealed the truth on October 30, 2018, when the Company announced that the SEC had expanded its previous investigation into the Company's accounting practices to now include the Power Charge. The Company announced that the Department of Justice was also investigating GE. GE had failed to disclose this material information on October 12, 2018 when defendants announced that GE was delaying the release of the Company's quarterly earnings. Upon disclosure of these facts, GE's stock price fell sharply from a closing price of $11.16 on October 29, 2018, to a closing price of $10.18 on October 30, 2018—a nearly 10% market decline—on trading of almost 345 million shares. GE shares traded as low as $9.87 on October 30, 2018. If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff for the Class, you must file a motion with the Court no later than April 2, 2019, which is the first business day on which the District Court for the Southern District of New York is open that is 60 days after the publication date of February 1, 2019. Any member of the proposed class may move the Court to serve as lead plaintiff through counsel of their choice. Keller Lenkner represents the plaintiff. If you wish to discuss this action or have any questions concerning this notice or your rights or interests, please contact Plaintiff's counsel, Ashley Keller of Keller Lenkner at 312-741-5220, or via e-mail at ack@kellerlenkner.com Keller Lenkner pursues high-stakes litigation for plaintiffs across a variety of claims and practice areas. Its lawyers are uniquely situated at the intersection of law and finance, with experience that includes litigating in courts throughout the country as well as co-founding the world's largest private litigation finance firm. www.kellerlenkner.com SOURCE Keller Lenkner LLC

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