Content for the Public

The way may soon be clear for “On-Sold” homeowners to access a cash payment from EQC without the stringent conditions previously in place.

Burford Capital, the leading global finance and asset management firm focused on law, today releases new independent research demonstrating the value of legal finance for companies with valuable commercial class action claims. In recent years, Burford has seen an increasing number of major corporations choosing to opt out of class action lawsuits to pursue high value claims individually and has commissioned independent research to examine the trend in greater depth.

Manolete Partners PLC on Friday said it has received a “rare adverse decision” on one of its larger cases from the UK High Court, forcing it to write down GBP2.3 million.

The following article is part of an ongoing column titled ‘Investor Insights.’ 

Brought to you by Ed Truant, founder and content manager of Slingshot Capital, ‘Investor Insights’ will provide thoughtful and engaging perspectives on all aspects of investing in litigation finance. 

Global law firm Pogust Goodhead has announced the hiring of Jeffrey Gittleman to lead the firm’s growing international antitrust/competition practice.  Mr. Gittleman has joined the firm as a partner in Pogust Goodhead’s Philadelphia, Pennsylvania office.

With the litigation funding market booming across the globe, established market leaders are seeing the positive impacts on their balance sheets, and these leading funders are building significant amounts of capital ready to be deployed in future cases.

LITFINCON is excited to announce its return to The Post Oak Hotel in Houston in March 2023, after a triumphant conference in March 2022.

LegalPay, a FinTech in legal and insolvency space, announced that it has elevated Kashish Grover as Chief Operating Officer (COO).

The topic of disclosure in litigation where there is the presence of third-party funding has been a hot topic in several jurisdictions, with defendants strongly arguing that there needs to be an increased level of transparency when it comes to litigation funding.

One of the central tenets of litigation funding is the importance of risk management and analysis not only during case selection, but further down the road when counsel must weigh the benefits and drawbacks of settlement. Whilst law firms bring their significant weight of experience and expertise to bear when evaluating settlement options during dispute resolution, the ability to pinpoint the exact right moment and terms under which to settle is always a challenge.

While the availability of, and access to, litigation funding has been a boon for those seeking access to justice, some industry insiders argue that reforms have not gone far enough, and that more change is needed. One area of interest is recoverability for plaintiff costs, where currently claimants still stand to lose financially in order to cover the costs of the very funding that has allowed them to access justice.

After a triumphant conference in March 2022, LITFINCON is excited to announce its return to The Post Oak Hotel in Houston, in March of 2023. 

A claim against Sony Group was filed on 19 August 2022 in the UK’s Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT). The claim is being brought on behalf of UK-based PlayStation users who have purchased digital games and/or add-on content from the PlayStation Store since 19 August 2016. The claim is being funded by Woodsford, the UK’s leading ESG, access to justice and litigation finance business.

As the litigation funding market continues to grow and evolve, funders are placing a higher value on environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues. This development raises questions about the connection between ESG and litigation funding, how litigation funders are currently addressing ESG, and what the future of ESG in litigation funding will look like.

The following article will offer answers to those questions and act as a general overview of the state of ESG in litigation funding.

Today, Inc. Magazine revealed that Experity Ventures is # 682 on its annual Inc. 5000 list, the most prestigious ranking of the fastest-growing private companies in America. The list represents a one-of-a-kind look at the most successful companies within the economy’s most dynamic segment—its independent businesses. Microsoft, Facebook, Under Armour, Patagonia, Chobani and many other well-known names gained their first national exposure as honorees on the Inc. 5000.

As part of a broader effort by the US Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) to increase transparency around hedge fund investing and reduce risk in the financial system, the spotlight has fallen on the activities of funds engaging in litigation financing investments. In a proposal last week, the SEC would require hedge funds and private investment advisors to confidentially disclose their litigation funding activities and spending.

The following piece was contributed by Anne Freeman of Australian law firm, Piper Alderman.

Virgin Australia, which has been sued by investors who purchased unsecured notes in the airline based on statements in a 2019 prospectus for a capital raising, has been ordered to advise the lead applicant in the class action whether its has made a claim against its insurer for its costs and any liability in the class action, and whether its insurer has agreed to grant indemnity.  It has also been ordered to produce copies of any insurance policies which might respond to the claims made in the class action[i].

Burford Capital Limited, the leading global finance and asset management firm focused on law, is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Rukia Baruti as an independent non-executive director.

Global law firm PGMBM will now be known as Pogust Goodhead after a succession of litigation victories.

Due to the increasing number of vehicle accidents and related lawsuits, High Rise Legal Funding announced they are focusing on car accident pre-settlement funding in 2022.

One of the great benefits of third-party legal funding is the ability for small companies and even individuals to fight on a level playing field against the world’s largest corporations. This dynamic was made evident in a recent case, where a US inventor was able to achieve a $10 million award for patent infringement from Microsoft, after enlisting the support of a litigation funder.

Engaging litigation investment is a fundamental utility for firms navigating the thorny journey of bankruptcy restructuring. Woodsford has published a new whitepaper with insights into the benefits that litigation finance offers during corporate insolvency reorganization. 

London’s specialist competition court, the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT), decided in October 2021 that a class action should proceed on behalf of rail passengers who are allegedly being overcharged by the Southeastern and South Western rail franchises by not making ‘boundary fares’ sufficiently available. Southeastern and South Western could have taken last year’s decision as a prompt to do the right thing by their customers and offer compensation. Unfortunately, they sought to delay resolution of the case, and ultimately the payment of compensation, by pursuing an appeal.

The District Court in Amsterdam has delivered a significant decision in a ground-breaking ESG action brought against Airbus. The action is organised and funded by the ESG team at Woodsford.

On Thursday, July 14^th, Litigation Finance Journal hosted a digital event, “How Investors Approach Litigation Finance.” The event featured a unique cross-section of investor types, including David Gallagher, Co-Head of Litigation Investing at The D.E. Shaw Group, CJ Wei, Vice President of Private Credit at Northleaf Capital, Benjamin Blum, Managing Director at Flexpoint Ford, LLC, David Demeter, Director of Investment at Davidson College, and Kendra Corbett, Partner at Cloverlay. The event was moderated by Ed Truant, Founder of Slingshot Capital.

Legal Futures profiles Deminor’s ESG insights in a new report. Deminor says that ESG legal investment has a high likelihood of becoming one of the United Kingdom’s most investable lines of business for litigation financiers. 

The role of superannuation funds in litigation finance (specifically in funding class action claims) has been highlighted by industry insiders in Australia, who point to it as a benefit to the funds themselves and also an encouragement of good corporate governance. The recent example of HESTA, a super fund based in Sydney, taking part in a class action lawsuit against multiple financial service companies, has demonstrated both the appetite and the potential benefits of such engagements.

International law firm Brown Rudnick has advised alternative investment firm North Wall Capital on a £100m litigation funding partnership with PGMBM, a law firm focused on environmental, social and corporate governance cases. The investment will be used by PGMBM to address the growing demand from consumers and other victims of injustice to seek recourse against corporates.

The Lloyd v. Google claim has given rise to some thought-provoking questions:

• Has Google breached its duties as a data controller? If so, have class members of the ensuing collective action suffered quantifiable damages?
• How exactly should “same interest” be determined in a case regarding the misuse of data?
• Do individual members of a class have to demonstrate material harm in order to receive recompense?

In the following article, we will explore the answers to these and other questions that have arisen from Case UKSC 2019/0213, otherwise known as Lloyd v. Google.