Minority YPF shareholders Petersen Energia and Eton Park, bankrolled by Burford Capital, are chasing a U.S. $17 billion New York judgment against Argentina into the High Court of England and Wales. Buenos Aires has asked the court to halt enforcement while it appeals in the United States, arguing it holds no attachable UK assets and that creditors will suffer no prejudice.

Reuters details the claimants’ response: if a pause is granted, Argentina should post £2 billion security, roughly 10 percent of the outstanding award, to blunt daily interest accrual of about U.S. $2.5 million. The article underscores funders’ growing role in cross-border sovereign enforcement; Burford’s capital has already fueled a decade-long campaign spanning New York, Madrid and now London.

A London-court showdown would illustrate how litigation finance converts paper victories into real money, even against resistant sovereigns. A security order could tighten Argentina’s negotiating window and validate funders’ appetite for high-duration, multinational enforcement plays. Conversely, a lengthy stay with no bond would spotlight the risk that political defendants can still out-wait private capital—raising questions about how funders price sovereign risk going forward.

The January wildfires that tore through greater Los Angeles have created a litigation wave—and a financing arms race. Plaintiffs’ firms face eight-figure discovery and expert-witness tabs while waiting years for contingency fees, so investment banks are stepping in. Jefferies and Oppenheimer are marketing credit lines and fee-purchase deals that could supply tens of millions of dollars up-front, collateralised by eventual recoveries against Southern California Edison and the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power.

Insurance Journal reports that the two banks are circulating pitch decks boasting wildfire-finance experience from the 2019 PG&E saga and promising annualised returns north of 20 percent. The publication notes that some of the 50-plus steering-committee firms have rebuffed outside cash, wary of settlement pressure, but many acknowledge that high-volume tort work is impossible without external capital. Funders, meanwhile, recognise a rare chance to buy into potentially multibillion-dollar fee streams—even if competition is already pushing pricing below the multiples seen in the PG&E deals.

Whether the influx of Wall Street money boosts access to justice or merely fattens lender margins will shape regulatory debates now brewing in Sacramento and Washington. California ethics rules mandate client disclosure, and a proposed federal excise tax threatens to raise funders’ cost of capital. The Los Angeles fire docket therefore doubles as a stress test: can mass-tort finance thrive under closer scrutiny and thinner spreads, or will rising compliance costs cool what has become one of litigation finance’s hottest niches?

Bitfinex Securities is turning to the blockchain to tokenize one of Britain’s next big consumer litigation waves. The exchange’s capital-markets arm has unveiled TITAN2, a £100 million direct listing of tokenised equity that will finance legal actions alleging mis-sold commissions in UK motor-finance deals. Investors who buy the three-year tokens will receive a pro-rata slice of any recoveries secured by the claimant group, giving them both exposure to digital assets and to potentially high-yield litigation proceeds.

An article in City A.M. notes that the Supreme Court is expected to rule next month on whether brokers could accept hidden commissions—an appeal of last October’s Court of Appeal decision siding with consumers. Within six weeks of that judgment the Financial Conduct Authority must decide if a formal redress scheme is warranted, putting potential damages into the billions and raising the stakes for funders.

Bitfinex is working with specialist infrastructure provider Ctrl Alt. Because payouts hinge on successful recoveries, the tokens resemble traditional litigation-finance equity rather than fixed-income notes, but with the added liquidity (and volatility) of crypto trading venues.

Tokenisation could lower the cost of capital and widen the investor pool for UK consumer-claim portfolios. Yet volatility, regulatory patchwork and questions around enforceability of on-chain securities could temper enthusiasm. Expect rival funders to watch TITAN2’s uptake closely as they weigh whether crypto rails offer a competitive edge or merely fresh compliance headaches.

Senate Republicans have softened—but not scrapped—their bid to impose a hefty new levy on litigation funders. The latest draft of Sen. Thom Tillis’s tax-reconciliation package cuts the proposed tax on litigation-finance proceeds to the still onerous 31.8%, down from an eye-watering 40.8% floated earlier this month. Yet other, more punitive features remain, including a bar on offsetting gains with losses and the removal of protections for tax-exempt backers, leaving funders warning that the measure still threatens to “wipe out” a $16 billion industry.

An article in Bloomberg Law notes that the rate tweak is part of a frantic bid by GOP leaders to meet President Trump’s July 4 deadline for passage of the broader budget package.

Industry pushback has been fierce. Paul Kong, executive director of the International Legal Finance Association, said the revision “doesn’t change” the bill’s apparent aim of shuttering third-party funding and “shutting down corporate accountability.” The association, along with major funders and their law-firm partners, has ramped up lobbying in recent weeks, courting swing-state senators and warning that the proposal would chill access-to-justice initiatives by making case financing uneconomical. The provision first surfaced in a standalone Tillis bill in May, pitched as a transparency measure, before being folded into the fast-moving reconciliation vehicle unveiled on June 4

Even at a reduced 31.8%, the tax could erode margins on diversified litigation portfolios, particularly if Congress refuses loss offsets. If the clause survives the July 4 vote, expect funders to accelerate efforts to domicile investments offshore, securitize portfolios to spread risk, or pursue lower-profile growth markets overseas.

Global funder Omni Bridgeway has notched the highest number of Band 1 recognitions worldwide in Chambers and Partners’ freshly released 2025 Litigation Support Guide.

A Mondaq press release details how the Sydney-listed financier swept the board across North America, Europe, Southeast Asia, Australia, Canada and Latin America, while also taking top global slots for international arbitration, asset tracing, and recovery. The guide also singled out a dozen Omni executives—among them Canada’s PJ Bouchard and IP specialist Sarah Tsou—for individual accolades, reinforcing the depth of the firm’s bench.

Chambers’ research hinges on extensive client and peer interviews, making repeat Band 1 status a rigorous endorsement of Omni’s investment track record and client service. The firm’s geographic breadth—24 offices on five continents—has been a differentiator, enabling cross-border portfolio solutions that smaller rivals struggle to match. CEO Raymond van Hulst credited the “skills-plus-capital model” and doubled-down on Omni’s pledge to stay a 20% co-investor in its core funds, keeping skin in the game alongside LPs.

Another global funder, Deminor, was awarded a Band 1 rating in Europe, whilst also notching a fresh Band 2 placement for Southeast Asia and Band 4 debut in the UK, alongside a Band 2 nod for international arbitration—a strategic triad that mirrors the firm’s recent office launches in Hong Kong, London and Stockholm. CEO Erik Bomans called the multi-jurisdictional sweep a “defining moment,” highlighting Deminor’s 77.8% recovery rate across 23 jurisdictions.

The full Chambers and Partners ratings can be found here.

Burford Capital’s latest research trains a spotlight on an oft-overlooked revenue stream hiding in plain sight: opt-out commercial class actions.

A PR Newswire release reveals findings from an independent survey of 301 US in-house lawyers. More than half the corporates surveyed faced potential class-action recoveries topping $50 million over the past five years, yet 62 % habitually remained in the class. Asked why, 73 % pointed to litigation costs and 71 % flagged timing-and-outcome uncertainty—precisely the frictions legal finance is designed to absorb. Burford Vice-Chair David Perla framed the takeaway bluntly: “Value creation is being left on the table.”

Beyond headline stats, the report underscores a growing corporate appetite for monetisation structures: upfront capital in exchange for a slice of an eventual award. With treasury teams laser-focused on liquidity in a higher-for-longer rate environment, that message is likely to land.

For funders, the data provide fresh ammunition in boardroom pitches: opting out plus non-recourse financing can turbo-charge recoveries without budget hits.

Sen. Thom Tillis’s bid to tack the “Tackling Predatory Litigation Funding Act” onto the Senate’s broad tax package has jolted the litigation-finance community. The North Carolina Republican frames his proposal as consumer protection, but funders say it targets them for punitive treatment just as capital flows into the sector to help plaintiffs and contingency-fee firms square off against deep-pocketed defendants.

An opinion piece in The Washington Times warns that the measure would “weaponize” the Internal Revenue Code. The bill would slap a 40.8 percent levy on “qualified litigation proceeds,” collected at the funding-vehicle level regardless of investor tax status. Any arrangement that “creates a direct or collateralized interest” in case outcomes is swept in—including law-firm loans carrying interest above seven percent. Losses, NOLs and routine expenses could not offset gains, and the tax would reach back to deals inked before 2026 if profits are realized afterward.

Supporters such as former Treasury official James Carter claim the change would close what they see as a loophole allowing foreign investors to harvest U.S. judgments tax-free, projecting $3.5 billion in new revenue over ten years. Detractors—among them NYU tax scholar Gregg Polsky—call the bill a “kill shot” that ignores existing capital-gains rules, punishes pension funds and endowments, and sets a dangerous precedent for targeting disfavored industries through confiscatory rates.

Should the Tillis language survive conference, after-tax returns for U.S. funders could be cut nearly in half overnight, chilling new commitments and driving capital offshore. The industry’s response—mobilizing heavyweight lobbyists and building bipartisan coalitions—will test whether its growing economic footprint can translate into political clout on Capitol Hill.

Bangladesh’s interim government, led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, has launched an aggressive hunt for wealth allegedly spirited offshore during Sheikh Hasina’s 15-year rule. Central-bank governor and former IMF economist Ahsan H. Mansur says the campaign could target “tens of billions” across multiple jurisdictions, and he is canvassing up to US $100 million in third-party capital to pay the legal bills.

An article in The Asian Age reports that global funder Omni Bridgeway has already held a series of meetings in Dhaka and London with Mansur and executives from sixteen domestic banks to structure a bespoke vehicle that would finance asset-tracing, judgment enforcement and recovery of non-performing loans. Omni’s enforcement managing director Wieger Wielinga confirmed interest, citing the firm’s recent sovereign-award collections and its appetite for emerging-market risk. Mansur’s London visit earlier this month also included briefings with UK regulators on evidence-gathering and potential freezing orders.

The proposed fund would complement eleven “high-priority” probes already under way and could operate on a contingency-fee basis, shielding taxpayers from upfront legal spend while granting funders a share of any recovered sums. Critics inside Bangladesh warn that cash settlements with so-called “financial rogues” risk undercutting the anti-corruption mandate that powered the July 2024 revolution, while political opponents liken the plan to “outsourcing justice.”

If finalized, this mandate would rank among the largest sovereign asset-recovery financings to date, signaling widening acceptance of public-sector litigation funding across the Global South.

Germany’s third-party funding market has evolved from a niche offshoot of insurance indemnity into a dynamic arena powered by collective-redress reforms and inbound capital. Practitioners say deal flow is rising as consumers leverage new opt-out mechanisms and corporates monetize dormant claims amid higher interest rates.

An article in CDR News chronicles how Deminor Litigation Funding, Latin-American entrant Loopa Finance and global heavyweight Omni Bridgeway are jockeying for market share while lawmakers debate caps on funder fees. Interviewees highlight a pivot toward portfolio deals and judgment-enforcement finance as Germany’s debtor-friendly regime forces sharper recoverability analytics. Law firms remain cautious after the Federal Court of Justice’s 2024 disclosure ruling left grey areas on privilege and control.

Observers foresee a surge in competition-damages and diesel-emissions claims once the EU’s Representative Actions Directive is fully transposed. Insurers—long the dominant capital providers—now face competition from specialist funds offering bespoke risk-sharing structures, while US and UK investors eye cross-border arbitration opportunities seated in Frankfurt and Düsseldorf.

The Senate’s proposed 41 percent levy on litigation-finance profits “solves nothing besides optics” and risks driving up overall litigation costs, according to tax columnist Andrew Leahey.

A column in Bloomberg Law argues the bill misunderstands how funders realize returns, which often materialize years after cash outlays and only when cases prevail. That timing quirk means the nominal rate vastly overstates the real burden.

Leahey notes the draft also exempts foreign-state-backed funders, potentially inviting capital from “countries of concern” to fill any vacuum left by U.S. investors. He predicts that, if enacted, the measure would raise little revenue while prompting constitutional challenges under the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments—particularly on grounds of discriminatory treatment and retroactivity.

For the legal-funding market, the column crystallizes several dangers: higher pricing for plaintiffs, larger settlement demands as investors recoup costs, and a shift toward opaque offshore vehicles not subject to U.S. oversight. Funders may therefore front-load deals before any retroactive effective date and step up advocacy for transparency-oriented reforms over punitive taxation.

Burford Capital has moved to knock out Tyson Foods’ interference lawsuit, telling an Illinois federal judge that the meat-packing giant—not the world’s largest litigation financier—scuttled talks to resolve sprawling chicken price-fixing claims brought by food distributor Sysco. In a motion to dismiss filed this week, Burford branded Tyson’s allegations of settlement meddling as “threadbare” speculation aimed at diverting attention from the underlying antitrust accusations.

An article in Reuters details Tyson’s April complaint accusing Burford of trying to “co-opt the legal system” by blocking a deal Sysco had weighed. Tyson says the funder leveraged its $140 million financing stake to push for a richer payout, impeding Sysco’s autonomy in the long-running poultry cartel litigation.

Burford’s filing counters that its 2019 funding agreement explicitly allows the financier to participate in settlement talks and notes Tyson rejected Sysco’s last offer back in 2021. After Burford thwarted what it viewed as sub-par settlements, Sysco transferred its claims to Burford affiliate Carina Ventures, removing the food-service giant from the case while preserving its potential recovery.

The skirmish comes as congressional Republicans revive proposals to tax litigation-finance proceeds at nearly 41%, underscoring a season of heightened scrutiny over how much influence funders wield in antitrust and class actions. Burford, which has repeatedly defended its model as bolstering access to justice, says Tyson’s suit would chill capital-backed claims by re-writing freely negotiated contracts after the fact.

For funders, the outcome may clarify how far investment contracts can reach into settlement strategy—especially when the underlying defendant wants a bargain exit. If Burford prevails, expect financiers to lean harder on contractual rights; if Tyson scores traction, future deals could feature stricter carve-outs to avoid similar challenges.

Regulatory upheaval is back on the agenda in London. Litigation Capital Management (LCM) has published a punch-by-punch analysis of the Civil Justice Council’s long-awaited Final Report on Litigation Funding, released earlier this month. The Working Party’s 58 recommendations include reversing PACCAR via legislation, imposing case-specific capital-adequacy tests, mandating early disclosure of funder identity and ultimate capital source, and introducing a “comprehensive but light-touch” statutory regime to replace today’s voluntary code.

In an article in Lexology, Sarah Webster of LCM notes that some proposals—such as exempting arbitration from the new rules and declining to cap funder returns—will please investors. Others, LCM argues, risk spawning “significant satellite litigation” and dampening appetite: an unenforceability penalty for regulatory breaches could hand defendants leverage to unravel funding deals mid-stream, while forcing disclosure of every ultimate investor may chill fundraising.

Additional layers for consumer and opt-out class actions would require independent KC advice and court sign-off on funder returns, potentially elongating timelines and increasing costs. Nonetheless, LCM welcomes recommendations to make funding costs recoverable in “exceptional circumstances” and to establish a standing data-collection committee that could inject empirical rigour into future policy debates.

Taken together, the Report sketches the most sweeping overhaul of third-party funding anywhere in the common-law world. Whether Westminster enacts the package—and how swiftly—now becomes the trillion-pound question.

NorthWall Capital has rocketed past €2.9 billion in assets under management after pulling in an additional €1.6 billion of institutional capital in 2025 alone. The London-based alternative credit manager says the surge reflects allocators’ intensifying hunt for scaled, multi-strategy platforms as Europe’s banks retrench and borrowers seek bespoke sources of credit.

A press release from NorthWall Capital details first-close totals across four distinct strategies. The flagship Credit Opportunities fund secured €731 million—already eclipsing its prior vintage—while the newly launched Senior Lending vehicle raised $503 million, translating to roughly $750 million of deployable firepower once leverage is applied. Asset-Backed Opportunities collected €252 million for collateral-rich loans in sectors underserved by traditional lenders, and the specialist Legal Assets platform locked down $169 million to extend the firm’s law-firm lending programme.

Founder and CIO Fabian Chrobog said the fundraising validates “the consistency of our approach” and NorthWall’s ability to craft solutions that resonate with investors and counterparties alike. With headcount slated to hit 40 by year-end, the firm plans to lean further into complex, situational credit born of bank deleveraging, regulatory shifts and sponsors’ need for certainty of execution.

Sen. Thom Tillis’s Tackling Predatory Litigation Funding Act, now folded into the Senate Finance Committee’s draft reconciliation package, would graft a stand-alone Chapter 50B onto the Internal Revenue Code and impose a punishing 40.8 percent flat levy on “qualified litigation proceeds.” The Schulte Roth & Zabel (SRZ) alert warns that the proposal overrides flow-through taxation, sweeps in virtually any entity—from partnerships and S-corps to sovereign wealth funds—and could chill ordinary-course lending by labeling collateralized credit facilities as “litigation financing agreements.”

A LinkedIn post from SRZ partner Boris Ziser underscores the breadth of the draft: the tax would hit domestic and foreign investors alike, deny offsetting losses, and trigger a 20.4 percent withholding obligation on plaintiffs and law firms that disburse any proceeds. Exemptions are narrow—fundings under $10,000 or debt-like arrangements capped at the greater of 7 percent or twice the 30-year Treasury yield—while long-standing preferences such as the portfolio-interest exemption and sovereign immunity would be swept aside. SRZ calculates that investors routing recoveries through a corporation could face an effective federal rate approaching 65 percent after dividend taxation, and even partnership structures would see double taxation because partners’ basis would not increase for proceeds taxed at the entity level.

Beyond funders, the bill’s catch-all definition of “litigation financing agreement” risks ensnaring securitizations, DIP financings, subrogation purchases, and other credit instruments whenever a borrower is a named litigant. By applying to taxable years beginning January 1, 2026—without grandfathering—it could retroactively erode returns on capital already deployed.

What it means for the market: If this language survives reconciliation, funders may rethink U.S. deployment models, while credit investors could demand covenants shielding them from inadvertent 40.8 percent exposure. The proposal also revives the broader policy debate: will Washington’s next move be bespoke tax regimes for other “disfavored” financial niches, or a push toward clearer, industry-wide regulation?

Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) has sparked a fierce backlash from MAGA influencers online, who are taking issue with Sen. Tillis' newly introduced legislation that aims to slap a 41% tax on third-party litigation finance agreements. Critics warn the measure would effectively choke off capital that plaintiffs rely on to challenge deep-pocketed corporations, tilting the playing field back toward defendants.

An article in the Daily Caller argues the proposal “hogties” a tool that ordinary Americans use to combat what author Will Hild brands “woke capitalism.” By raising the cost of capital, the bill could dissuade funders from backing suits against headline-making defendants—Bank of America, Uber and Nationwide are cited as companies that stand to gain if litigation funding dries up.

The Daily Caller's article was quickly snapped up by a cadre of right-wing influencers who have begun sounding off on the alleged harms this bill would cause for ordinary Americans.

Robby Starbuck, the influential 'anti-woke' crusader, posted on X: "How does a little guy stand any chance if they go up against a woke megacorp? Nearly the only way is litigation financing where a wealthy 3rd party funds the suit. As written now @SenThomTillis’ bill is a mega corporations dream."

Jenna Ellis took things a step further, accusing Sen. Tillis of deception: "Tillis has deceptively marketed his bill as taxing “foreign” litigation funding — when in reality it subjects all litigation funders to a 41% levy — intended to drive away investors. The effect would be that Americans fighting woke corporations will lose one of the few tools needed to fight back."

Kurt Schlichter added: "Every American has a right to bring a lawsuit. It’s nobody’s business how they fund it. And lawsuits are hugely expensive. This is a way to keep people from suing - it doesn’t start bad lawsuit. It stops good ones."

It seems we have a mini-Republican civil war brewing over the issue of legal funding. Sen. Tillis is a Republican, but that hasn't stopped the MAGA faithful from backing legal funding in a bit to help them take down 'woke corporations.'

LFJ will continue to follow this story as it develops.

Boutique disputes firm CANDEY has made a strategic addition to its partnership ranks, bringing on former Burford Capital executive Robin Ganguly. With a career that spans high-stakes litigation and cross-border insolvency work at Linklaters and Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner, Ganguly also brings deep expertise from the litigation funding and insurance sectors—making him a key hire as CANDEY expands its risk-sharing capabilities.

A press release from CANDEY highlights Ganguly’s trajectory through Burford, where he led the global insolvency practice, followed by litigation risk roles at Aon and The Fidelis Partnership. At Fidelis, Ganguly underwrote high-value legal risk and managed transactional insurance solutions, further honing his understanding of bespoke risk mitigation in complex disputes.

His arrival coincides with the firm’s recent launch of CANDEY CAPITAL (BVI) Limited, a litigation fund dedicated to financing claims arising from insolvency and distressed situations. This latest addition rounds out CANDEY’s offering, which already includes CFAs, DBAs, and litigation insurance. Ganguly’s hire, coupled with the insolvency expertise of CANDEY partner David Harby, signals a deliberate effort to deepen the firm’s footprint in asset recovery and contentious insolvency.

“CANDEY is a firm that has risk-taking in its DNA,” said managing partner Ashkhan Candey. “Robin’s experience in funding and insurance significantly enhances our offering.”

Marking a significant expansion of its European footprint, Geradin Partners has announced the opening of new offices in Berlin and Cologne, bolstered by the arrival of Thomas Höppner from Hausfeld and Thomas G. Funke from Osborne Clarke.

According to a press release from Geradin Partners, this move positions the boutique competition firm to deepen its pan-European practice and strengthen its presence in Germany’s critical antitrust and tech regulation landscape. Höppner, who was Hausfeld’s first German partner in 2015, played a leading role in establishing the firm’s German operations. He brings with him a team that shares his “challenger mindset,” a hallmark of both his time at Hausfeld and his vision for the future at Geradin.

Funke, previously a partner at Osborne Clarke and well-regarded for his litigation prowess, joins to co-lead the German offices. Together, the two lawyers are expected to expand Geradin’s work on complex antitrust litigation and regulatory matters, particularly as European enforcement ramps up in the tech sector. Founding partner Damien Geradin said the hires “solidify our ability to offer top-tier competition and regulatory advice across Europe.”

As Europe’s legal and regulatory landscape continues to evolve, the German expansion of Geradin Partners may point to broader shifts in the litigation and legal funding ecosystem—where cross-border capability, strategic litigation, and competition expertise are becoming essential assets.

The U.S. litigation finance sector may soon face a substantial tax hike under a proposal folded into the latest version of Senate Republicans’ tax and healthcare legislation. The provision, championed by Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC), introduces a 41% levy on profits from litigation finance investments—a move projected to raise $3.5 billion over a decade.

An article in Bloomberg Law details how the measure was added to President Trump’s budget bill (H.R. 1) and could significantly deter investor interest in the $15.2 billion industry. Investors, who back lawsuits in exchange for a cut of potential settlements or verdicts, value litigation finance for its uncorrelated returns. But critics, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, argue the practice inflates settlement values and prolongs litigation timelines.

The International Legal Finance Association (ILFA), the industry’s leading trade body, is actively opposing the Tillis proposal. ILFA argues that the measure would stifle access to justice by disincentivizing critical funding for claimants unable to afford litigation. The tax plan, while currently included in the bill, is far from finalized: Senate negotiations remain ongoing, and any final version must still be reconciled with the House’s earlier passage.

What makes the Tillis approach noteworthy is its departure from previous regulatory efforts focused on disclosure requirements. Instead, it leverages the tax code to curb litigation funding indirectly—prompting alarm across the industry. According to attendees at a recent litigation finance conference in New York, the proposal has already triggered coordinated responses among major funders, including efforts to boost ILFA membership and advocacy.

The proposed tax underscores a renewed push to rein in litigation finance via unconventional channels. As political winds shift, funders may need to rethink their strategies—not only to protect investor returns, but also to defend the sector’s role in enabling access to the courts.

Thousands of Belgian businesses may be eligible for compensation following revelations of a sweeping price-fixing scheme involving the country’s top private security providers. From 2008 to 2020, industry giants Securitas, G4S, and Seris colluded to inflate prices and carve up the market, depriving clients of competitive rates. The Belgian Competition Authority confirmed the scheme in July 2024, levying a landmark €47 million fine and acknowledging widespread harm to companies and institutions relying on security services.

An article in LitFin outlines how the litigation funder is spearheading a class action to secure damages for affected parties. LitFin estimates total damages could exceed €800 million, with any organization that contracted private security during the cartel period—whether for routine guarding or specialized services like airport security—potentially eligible to join the claim.

LitFin’s approach eliminates financial barriers by covering all legal and procedural costs in exchange for a share of any recovery. With 21 competition class actions already underway across the EU, the firm brings established expertise to this ambitious claim.

A brewing legal rift in one of the UK’s largest consumer class actions has escalated, as litigation funder Innsworth Capital seeks judicial review of the £200m Mastercard settlement approved by the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT). Innsworth, which financed the long-running Merricks v Mastercard case, is contesting the tribunal’s distribution structure, claiming it unjustly limits the funder’s return to less than half its investment, while allocating over £30m to a third-party charity.

An article in the Global Legal Post reports that Innsworth’s challenge centers on the May ruling, which capped its return at £22.8m—just 0.5× its £45.6m outlay—while setting aside the remaining balance of a £54.4m discretionary fund for either top-up class member payments or donation to the Access to Justice Foundation (ATJF). Innsworth alleges the tribunal made legal and procedural missteps, including misapplying Australian case law and failing to account for the commercial risk it bore in a case once valued at £14bn.

The funder argues that a return of 1.5× was both contractually contemplated and supported by precedent, and that the tribunal denied it a fair chance to respond to the proposed settlement mechanics. Its filing calls attention to what it deems an “arbitrary and irrational” allocation that favors a charity over the party that funded the claim’s pursuit.

The timing of Innsworth’s action is notable, following the Civil Justice Council’s June 3 report urging statutory regulation of funders and a legislative fix to PACCAR. The outcome of this judicial review could influence how courts and legislators assess funder profits—and reshape expectations around post-settlement fund allocations in collective redress cases.

A shadowy new television ad has thrown fresh fuel on the fire surrounding third-party litigation funding, signaling a sharp escalation in efforts to reshape the industry’s tax treatment. The 60-second spot, airing nationally, takes aim at litigation financiers and the plaintiffs’ bar, aligning with a Republican-backed push to impose a steep 41% tax on litigation finance profits through an upcoming federal appropriations bill.

According to Bloomberg Law, the ad features dramatic visuals and pointed messaging designed to raise public concern about the role and influence of litigation funders in the civil justice system. While the ad does not disclose its sponsor, its timing and tone suggest it is part of a coordinated campaign to build momentum behind proposed tax reforms that would treat funder profits as ordinary income rather than capital gains.

At the heart of the policy debate is whether litigation funders should continue to benefit from preferential tax rates typically reserved for long-term investment income. Proponents of the tax hike argue that funders are not passive investors but active participants in the legal process who should face a higher tax burden. Critics, meanwhile, warn that the proposal would discourage funding for meritorious claims and restrict access to justice, especially in costly litigation where plaintiffs cannot afford to proceed without external financing.

The ad spot represents a new front in the political battle over litigation finance, which has faced increasing scrutiny from lawmakers, regulators, and industry opponents. It follows recent moves by groups like the American Property Casualty Insurance Association, which have endorsed similar tax reforms aimed at reining in the sector.

The American Property Casualty Insurance Association (APCIA) has thrown its support behind the “Tackling Predatory Litigation Funding Act,” a proposed bill aimed at increasing tax and regulatory scrutiny of third-party litigation funders. APCIA is advocating for the legislation’s inclusion in the federal reconciliation package, underscoring the insurance industry’s mounting concern over the financial and legal impact of third-party litigation funding (TPLF).

An article in Insurance Business Magazine reports that the APCIA is backing the measure as part of its broader efforts to rein in what it views as predatory funding practices. The association argues that TPLF arrangements can distort the legal process by incentivizing unnecessary litigation, driving up settlement costs, and fostering conflicts of interest between funders and claimants.

The proposed legislation would require litigation funders to pay taxes on returns previously treated as capital gains, thereby classifying their profits more akin to business income. This shift could significantly affect the financial calculus for funders, particularly those operating in high-volume, high-return sectors of mass tort and class action litigation.

The APCIA’s stance aligns with a broader pattern of resistance from the insurance industry, which has increasingly blamed litigation funding for contributing to “social inflation”—the rising costs of claims due to expanded legal theories and larger jury awards. With the insurance lobby stepping up its pressure, this bill could serve as a litmus test for how the federal government chooses to address the growing influence of litigation finance.

If passed, the legislation could reshape the risk-reward profile for funders and usher in a new era of compliance obligations. The legal funding industry will be watching closely to see whether this signals the start of a more aggressive regulatory push from Washington.

A landmark collective action against Google has cleared a key legal hurdle in the UK, with the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) certifying a £1.04 billion lawsuit brought on behalf of thousands of UK app developers.

The class action, spearheaded by Strathclyde University competition law professor Barry Rodger and backed by litigation funder Bench Walk Advisors, accuses Google of abusing its dominant position by imposing excessive commissions on app sales through its Play Store.

The case filing outlines that the CAT has issued a collective proceedings order, allowing the case to move to trial. The claim targets exorbitant commissions, alleging these charges unfairly burden UK app developers—many of them small- and medium-sized enterprises—by effectively locking them into the Play Store ecosystem through restrictive contractual and technical practices.

The case adds to mounting regulatory and legal scrutiny of Google’s Play Store practices worldwide. The European Commission recently issued preliminary findings under the Digital Markets Act, the UK’s CMA is assessing Google’s “Strategic Market Status,” and U.S. courts have already found the tech giant in breach of antitrust laws. The timing of the CAT’s ruling puts further pressure on Google, particularly as similar legal actions, including a new suit by Korean developers, continue to emerge globally.

A panel convened by S&P Global has flagged litigation funding as a growing concern for casualty insurers, warning that its rapid rise could be fueling systemic inefficiencies and potential abuse in the legal system.

An article in Reuters details the findings from an S&P insurance panel that expressed concern over how the increasing role of third-party litigation funding is contributing to the volume and aggressiveness of legal claims. Panelists noted that while there is “no sign of the apocalypse,” litigation funders’ influence is prompting a cautious stance from casualty insurers, who are facing escalating claim costs, longer litigation cycles, and a rising number of so-called nuclear verdicts.

The panel advocated for comprehensive tort reform, citing litigation funding as a key driver of what they see as a dysfunctional tort system. They warned that without structural legal changes, insurance markets could see greater volatility and pricing pressure. While the exact impact of litigation funding on claims frequency remains contested, S&P analysts are increasingly viewing it as a structural headwind for insurers navigating a tougher underwriting environment.

The remarks come amid broader industry scrutiny of litigation finance’s influence on legal outcomes and market dynamics. With funders enabling claimants to pursue extended or higher-value litigation, insurers argue the funding model skews incentives and inflates settlements. Calls for greater transparency around funding arrangements and closer regulatory oversight are growing louder within insurance circles.

This latest critique adds momentum to the ongoing debate over litigation finance’s long-term impact. As third-party funding becomes more entrenched across jurisdictions, questions remain about how insurers, lawmakers, and courts will respond—and whether litigation finance will continue reshaping the contours of legal risk.