Why Litigation Funding is Surging in Popularity in India
Third party funding is taking off in India, thanks in part to a robust construction and infrastructure sector that is asset and debt-heavy, yet encumbered with the prospect of litigation.
Third party funding is taking off in India, thanks in part to a robust construction and infrastructure sector that is asset and debt-heavy, yet encumbered with the prospect of litigation.
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.
UK law firm Rosenblatt announced the formation of a litigation funding arm when the firm went public last year. Now, in the firm’s half-year report, CEO Nicola Foulston announced that Rosenblatt will be treating all un-concluded claims as costs, eschewing any potential concern over its accounting methodology.
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.
In response to investor inquiries, Burford Capital Limited (“Burford Capital” or “Burford” or “the Company”), the leading global finance and investment management firm focused on law, has today uploaded to the investor relations section of its website a briefing of the Company’s investment fair value and return computations.
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.
This past Wednesday and Thursday saw New York City play host to the 2nd annual LF Dealmakers Forum. Hosted by Wendy Chou, whose popular IP Dealmakers Forum served as a launchpad for a similar conference aimed at the litigation funding market, the sold out two-day event brought together industry experts and novices alike.
Legalist, the San Francisco-based AI-driven litigation funding platform, has landed a $100MM funding round. The firm will deploy the capital into 100-200 cases of at most $1MM each.
NEW YORK (September 18, 2019) – Litigation funder Validity Finance continues to build its U.S. investment team while expanding its capital base. The firm announced the arrival of Ronit Cohen, who joins Validity as portfolio counsel. A former trial lawyer who practiced at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett and O’Melveny, Ms. Cohen transitioned to litigation finance in 2012 and spent the past seven years as an investment professional at Bentham IMF.
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 of 9354-9186 Québec inc., et al. v. Callidus Capital Corporation 2018 QCCA 632 is making its way to the Canadian Supreme Court, and with it will come an examination of litigation funding in the insolvency context.
Litigation Capital Management Limited (AIM:LIT), a leading international provider of litigation financing solutions, today announces its audited financial results for the year ended 30 June 2019.
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.
There is no other way to express it; the US commercial litigation finance industry is under assault from a variety of different interest groups and the industry lacks a homogenous voice to counter the opposition and to communicate its strong benefits.
No doubt, many industry participants are well aware of the recent report by a hedge fund short- seller against the industry’s largest participant. While the report raises many issues for consideration, it is also symptomatic of a multi-pronged attack on the industry, whether organized or purely by coincidence. This article is a call for the industry to unite and create an association to represent interests of the various participants and beneficiaries of the industry (lawyers, plaintiffs, funders and investors).
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.
MIAMI, Aug. 27, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — Brazil’s Minister for Justice, Sérgio Moro, will give the keynote address at The OffshoreAlert Conference Latin America on Financial Intelligence & Investigations on September 16-17, 2019.
The following was contributed by Nick Rowles-Davies, Executive Vice Chairman of Litigation Capital Management (LCM).
The recent and well documented attacks by activist short-seller Muddy Waters on Burford Capital have brought litigation finance into the limelight. Whilst largely focussed on Burford’s accounting methods and corporate governance, the hedge fund’s accusations have raised concerns around the practices and legitimacy of the industry more broadly.
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.
NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Rosen Law Firm, a global investor rights law firm, announces it has filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of purchasers of the securities of Burford Capital Limited (OTC: BRFRF, BRFRY) from March 18, 2015 through August 7, 2019, inclusive (the “Class Period”). The lawsuit seeks to recover damages for Burford investors under the federal securities laws.
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.
LOS ANGELES, Aug. 20, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — Legal-Bay LLC, the Lawsuit Settlement Funding Company, announced that they have launched a new lawsuit finance division for commercial litigation, lawsuit loans or advances, and attorney loans for law firms. Commercial litigation cases can be extremely complex and require expansive resources for both plaintiffs and law firms to fight. Legal-Bay feels this is an under-served market and plans to build a new division to accommodate the needs in the market.
The average IRS whistleblower claim takes more than eight years to pay out, if they pay out at all. That’s a huge gamble, but one that isn’t stopping one new litigation funder, whose brand new fund is solely devoted to funding IRS whistleblower claims.