Burford Capital has commissioned a study by Joshua Mitts of Columbia Law School which found that there is indeed evidence to back the funder’s claim that it was the victim of market manipulation in the wake of the Muddy Waters attack which shed 50% of the stock’s valuation in a single day. Burford is presenting the study in court to compel the London Stock Exchange to release the names of the short-seller sho it says manipulated the trading.
New Zealand government insurer Southern Response wants to eschew a Court of Appeals order that a portion of its settlement go to litigation funder Claims Funding Australia. Maurice Blackburn and Claims Funding took over representation for 3,000 claimants after a New Zealand court allowed an opt-out class action for only the second time in history. Southern Response is weighing an appeal to the decision, preferring to deal with the claimant pool directly.
Defunct New Zealand firm Felted Carpets – which collapsed just two years after its IPO – is being sued on behalf of over 3,000 investors. Harbour Litigation Funding had funded the claim up through 2015, with ‘Stage 2 Funding’ coming from a group of investors including Joint Action Funding. Now, the Supreme Court has ordered a $1.65MM security for costs order, which the plaintiffs are contesting.
The latest issue of Harvard Law School’s Center on the Legal Profession’s ‘The Practice’ magazine features a robust examination of the litigation finance industry, including how the industry operates, who the major players are, how deals get done, and what law students should do to secure a career in legal finance.
Well, how often does this happen? A government agency officially declares itself unconstitutional. That’s what the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) just did, as director Kraninger sent letters to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, stating in no uncertain terms that the agency is unconstitutional given the single-director-removable-only-by-POTUS structure.
LCM has been funding a class action against the Gladstone Ports Corporation (GPC) on behalf of local fisheries and fishermen, who claim that GPCs port expansion project led to the collapse of the fishing market there. GPC had been arguing that LCMs funding agreement is unenforceable on the basis of champerty and maintenance, but the court just upheld the agreement as not champertous.
Insurance Australia Group (IAG) is estimating that a class action being waged against it could be worth as much as $1B. Global funder Balance REV is financing the claim, which alleges that customers were sold ‘add-on’ insurance products that had little-to-no financial value.
London, 12th September 2019. Augusta, the UK’s largest litigation and disputes funder by case volume today announces it has raised a further US $115m from a multi-billion-dollar US-based investment manager.
NEW YORK, Sept. 10, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Rosen Law Firm, a global investor rights law firm, reminds purchasers of the securities of Burford Capital Limited (OTC: BRFRF, BRFRY) from March 18, 2015 through August 7, 2019, inclusive (the “Class Period”) of the important October 21, 2019 lead plaintiff deadline in the securities class action commenced by the firm. The lawsuit seeks to recover damages for Burford investors under the federal securities laws.
The hits just keep on coming for Burford Capital. First there was the Muddy Waters short, then accusations of a sex tape swap, and now allegations the world’s largest litigation funder spent loads of money on its four non-executive directors (whose responsibility is to keep management in check).
NEW YORK (September 11, 2019) – Leading commercial litigation funder Bentham IMF has completed its third round of hiring since the November 2018 launch of its second fund devoted to US investments.
Well, not everyone is buying Muddy Waters’ claims that Burford Capital mis-represented its accounting. Investor Caro-Kann Capital is long Burford shares, and has released a lengthy and detailed report outlining the firm’s point-by-point rebuttal of Muddy Waters’ allegations.
The case against Burford Capital has been made, and Burford’s response has subsequently been laid out. We’ve from heard from both sides on the issue, and it seems the market has spoken (said market can be fickle, however, so we’ll see what it’s saying six months or a year from now). That said, Muddy Waters’ allegations of Burford’s accounting impropriety cast a very long shadow over the industry, as illustrated by one prominent institutional investor’s decision to sell its holdings in Burford Capital.
One of Muddy Waters’ chief allegations against Burford Capital is that the funder manipulates its financial reporting. The short-seller used the Napo Pharmaceuticals example to illustrate how Burford misreports earnings. Now, after a deluge of investor concern, Burford has released a 7-page explanation of its Napo accounting.
In the case of WAG Acquisition, LLC v. Multi Media LLC, Civil Action No. 2-14-cv-02340, a New Jersey court has reaffirmed that the pursuit of litigation funding by a plaintiff – in this case a partnership with Woodsford Litigation Funding – does not harm standing.
Study after study shows that General Counsel are growing more and more interested in the product of litigation finance, yet the adoption rates remain low. There are numerous hurdles, not the least of which is cultural: many GCs simply retract from the idea that their role and responsibility should transform from cost container to revenue producer. That said, given the shifting economic climate, it’s worth taking another look at how litigation funding can benefit GCs and the balance sheets they are entrusted to safeguard.
NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Premier Event in Litigation Finance to Feature Innovative Program, One-to-One Meetings, Industry Leaders, and Keynote Speaker Stephen Susman
Amid continued growth and developments in the litigation finance market, the leading companies and executives in the industry will convene at the Second Annual LF Dealmakers Forum to be held in New York on September 18-19. The keynote speaker will be Stephen Susman, one of the nation’s top trial lawyers and founder of Susman Godfrey, a nationally recognized firm specializing in high stakes litigation.
