A report released by Burford Capital this week reveals that the funder has had its best year ever for recoveries. At the same time, profits shrank from the previous year. Burford suggests that the pandemic didn’t have the detrimental impact on business that was originally suspected.
Compared to the rest of the continent, South African laws regarding third party litigation funding are advanced. Compared to the rest of the developed world, however, the country is lagging behind. Legislation is minimal, and court decisions are decided on the basis of precedent rather than law. Could that be changing?
Claims of direct losses and loss of opportunity are some of the accusations being levied regarding the collapse of the Woodford Equity Income Fund. The claim, led by RGL Management group, is against Link Fund Solutions as well as Hargreaves Lansdown Asset Management.
At last, at least 15,000 seaweed farmers in Indonesia will be compensated by the oil company responsible for one of Australia’s largest oil spills. West Timor farmers were devastated by the spill, which covered more than 240 kilometers of seaweed crops nearly 12 years ago. Harbour provided third-party funding for the action.
A CrowdJustice appeal has been launched to cover legal fees, as homeowner John Gaskell seeks justice for a home beset by problems. While Gaskill points to issues involving heating and insulation, plumbing, and disability access compliance, the developer describes these issues as ‘cosmetic.’
Competition between law firms in London just got a little more fierce. Byrne and Partners and PCB Litigation have merged—with Burford Capital’s blessing. The deal will go live next month when PCB Litigation moves into the Byrne and Partners offices. This will result in a firm led by 15 partners.
Australia’s predilection for over-regulating litigation funders is on display again. A proposed 30% limit on gross returns to funders could devastate funding for class actions. New research from PwC’s Jeremy Thorpe suggests that even a 36% return rate for funders would fail to cover even basic legal costs.
The financial world has been on the receiving end of investor-related whimsy of late. Bizarre and unexpected high-end investments are taking financial pros by surprise. But what is driving these unusual, sometimes even hilarious, investments?
The current legal climate in Kenya isn’t much different than that of the developed world. Access to justice is often limited to what the litigant can afford or raise. Those who cannot afford to fund their cases may sell off assets or crowdsource funds. But as of now, the option to seek third-party litigation funding on a non-recourse basis is not available to Kenyans.
Regulations regarding damages-based agreements can create havoc in a collective action. Recently, all eyes were on a Court of Appeal ruling regarding truckers and the Road Haulage Association, as well as the third-party funders financing the collective action.
Australia’s High Court determined by a slim 3-2 majority that first-come-first-serve will not apply to overlapping or competing class actions. Some have suggested that there should be a presumption that the first case filed should proceed, and later cases stayed. The High Court disagreed, and instead suggested numerous factors that should be considered.
Billion-dollar verdicts in IP cases don’t happen every day. Even when they do, they typically don’t hold up on appeal. Yet these sizable verdicts turn heads in the media and bring attention to the value of patents. This attention is a welcome change for some who claim that the media has an anti-patent bias.
In a sign of how law firms might be growing more cost-conscious, Trans-Atlantic legal firm Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner cut its workforce by 4% globally as part of its newly adopted strategic plan. This included closing one office in Beijing, and intensifying focus on specific areas of practice.
Patent litigation cases have soared dramatically since the beginning of the pandemic. Frank DeCosta of Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner, knows that companies are leveraging IP assets with strategic litigation—which is more valuable now than ever before.
Indiana Resources is still pursuing its case against the government of Tanzania. The case deals with the alleged expropriation of the southern African Ntaka nickel project. Indiana’s claim now exceeds $95 million, with the first hearing scheduled for next month.
Law firm Leigh Day is on its way to getting justice for the roughly 4,000 investors in the now-defunct Woodford Equity Income Fund against Link Fund Solutions. In fact, the corporate directors could find themselves in High Court within the next few months.
Influence. It’s one of the key concerns that lawmakers have about third-party litigation funding. The fear is that funders, who do not have a direct connection to a legal dispute, yet fund it in the hopes of earning a share of the award, may unduly influence decisions about the case that may adversely impact courts, plaintiffs, or defendants. So what happens when funded cases involve one or more federal governments?
