Content for the Public

The Minnesota Supreme Court took a significant step to ensuring equal access to justice with their decision in Maslowski vs. Prospect Funding Partners LLC. yesterday, overturning the trial court and Court of Appeals holding and ruling unanimously that Consumer Litigation Funding is not subject to usury law as there is no absolute requirement to repay. In their decision, reversing the trial court and Court of Appeals, the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled that the repurchase rate in Prospect’s agreement was not subject to Minnesota’s usury statute. The American Legal Finance Association (ALFA) filed the only amicus curiae brief in this case on behalf of the interest of their members.

Omni Bridgeway Limited (ASX: OBL) (Omni Bridgeway, OBL, Group) has today released its results for the 12 months ended 30 June 2023 (FY23, Year).

Legal-Bay, The Pre Settlement Funding Company, announced today that Johnson & Johnson’s efforts to put a hold on the numerous lawsuits they are facing by filing bankruptcy have failed. Judge Kaplan ruled that the filing did not meet the requirements to qualify as a “good-faith” bankruptcy attempt, and was merely a way to seek protections against the billions of dollars the pharmaceutical giant will be expected to pay out in damages.

Legal-Bay, the Pre-Settlement Funding Company, announced an uptick in applications for settlement funding now that back-to-school season has begun. Now that summer is over and kids are heading back to school, many parents of college-aged children are faced with the added costs of tuition payments, textbooks, and travel expenses to-and-from campus, not to mention meals and housing once they get there.

Leading UK consumer law firm Slater and Gordon has agreed a £33 million committed facility with litigation funder and lender to law firms, Harbour, in what is believed to be one of the largest lending deals in the sector this year.

Litigation Finance Journal is well-regarded as the leading publication covering the global legal funding sector, but what is perhaps less-well known is that LFJ also serves as a digital hub for industry stakeholders to connect, via our informal introductory services. A recent example illustrates the impact that LFJs access to the global funding community can have, as Brazilian attorney and activist Daniel Cavalcante leveraged our introductory services to raise funding for a claim on behalf of Indigenous communities in the Amazon. 

In a bid to decongest the Indian legal system, LegalPay, India’s largest litigation financier has launched an Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) wing called Bharat Dispute Resolution (BDR).

The Frankfurt-based litigation financing company LF Legal Finance SE, through its subsidiary Legal Finance International GmbH (Düsseldorf), has acquired an option to finance an international tort case with a value in dispute of up to EUR 1.0 million. If the case is financed and won, Legal Finance expects significant cash inflows.

Wednesday, August 9th, LFJ hosted a panel of UK-based litigation funding experts who discussed the recent UK Supreme Court decision, and the potential impacts on the funding industry. The expert panel included: Nick Rowles-Davies (NRD), Founder of Lexolent, Neil Johnstone (NJ), Barrister at King’s Bench Chambers, and Tets Ishikawa (TI), Managing Director at LionFish. The panel was moderated by Peter Petyt (PP), Founder and CEO of 4 Rivers Services.

Pegasus Legal Capital, LLC (“Pegasus”) (mylawfunds.com), one of the preeminent pre-settlement legal funding companies in the U.S., announced today that it has recently closed a senior debt transaction with East West Bank. This marks another significant capital market transaction for the company and proceeds from the transaction will enable Pegasus to continue its growth across the United States.

Ward and Smith is pleased to announce that litigation attorney Lynwood Evans has been appointed to the Plaintiffs’ Executive Committee in the litigation over contaminated water at Camp Lejeune. This appointment is particularly significant as we are quickly approaching the first anniversary of the Camp Lejeune Justice Act.

Cases with a prolonged duration and timelines that span nearly a decade are not uncommon for those in the business of litigation finance. However, even in cases where claimants receive a favourable judgement, there is always the issue of determining the size of the award, which further prolongs these lawsuits.

Legal-Bay, the Pre-Settlement Funding Company, reports that the Roman Catholic Diocese of Syracuse, New York has just announced a $100 million settlement for sexual abuse plaintiffs. With approximately 400 claimants, settlements average out to $250,000 per case, but some plaintiffs will receive more or less than that amount based on the severity of the abuse incurred.

Legal-Bay, The Pre Settlement Funding Company, announced today that they are now adding mesothelioma victims to their list of Johnson & Johnson talc plaintiffs. The pharmaceutical company just lost their most recent court case, resulting in a landmark $18 million verdict. Both J&J and plaintiffs/lawyers await the next steps in what has been a painfully slow process.

Earlier this week, the UK Supreme Court handed down a long-awaited judgement that many believe will have a significant impact on the short-term future of the UK litigation funding market. The ruling in the case of R (on the application of PACCAR Inc and others) (Appellants) v Competition Appeal Tribunal and others (Respondents) held that litigation funding agreements (LFAs), where the funder’s remuneration is based on a percentage of the recovered damages, should be classified as damages-based agreements (DBAs).

4 Rivers has a case which requires urgent funding. It is a RICO claim against a large insurance company, which has recently been found to be already engaging in serious misconduct, including a Punitive Damages award against it, and found vicariously liable for assisting arsonists.

The following article was contributed by John Hanley, Partner at Rimon Law, and Ryan Schultz, Vice President of Business Development for Woodsford Litigation Funding.

Third-party litigation funding (“TPLF”) involves financing of expenses incurred in a lawsuit (for example, expert fees and usually some portion of legal fees incurred) in exchange for a share of the final judgment or settlement. The funding is typically non-recourse (i.e., the amounts funded need not be repaid if the lawsuit is unsuccessful) and is often repaid through a financial interest in the attorneys’ fees realized by the law firm if the case is successful. These arrangements have become common in the marketplace: in 2022, $3.2 billion in capital was committed for new TPLF; 61% of that capital was deployed to law firms as opposed to clients and claimants; and 28% of the funding recipients were members of the Am Law 200.¹

Litigation Capital Management Limited (AIM:LIT), an alternative asset manager specialising in dispute financing solutions internationally, announces a positive development on an investment within its Fund I portfolio.

Burford Capital, the leading global finance and asset management firm focused on law, today releases its latest Burford Quarterly, a journal of legal finance that explores the top trends impacting the business of law.

Litigation Capital Management Limited (AIM:LIT), a leading alternative asset manager of disputes financing solutions, provides a market update for the twelve month period to 30 June 2023 (“FY2023”).

EJF Capital LLC (“EJF Capital”), a global alternative asset management firm, today announced the successful close of its fourth installment of litigation finance investment vehicles, Rocade Capital Fund IV LP and Rocade Capital Offshore Fund IV LP (the “Funds”) with approximately $220 million in investor subscriptions and commitments. Previously, EJF Capital and funds affiliated with Barings LLC, one of the world’s leading investment managers, formed a joint venture specialty finance company, Rocade LLC (“Rocade”), with $250 million of committed capital designed to invest alongside the Funds. The combined capital commitments raised across Rocade and the Funds totals approximately $470 million.

Lex Ferenda Litigation Funding LLC “LF2” recently launched two new initiatives in conjunction with its commercial funding operations. “LF2 University” or “LF2U” offers programming and content promoting education about litigation finance. Meanwhile, “LF2 Gives” serves as LF2’s philanthropic arm and corporate citizenship program, through which LF2 supports the local communities in which it works.

Funds managed by Foresight Group (“Foresight”), a leading, listed, sustainability-led alternative asset investment manager with £12 billion* of assets under management, have completed the acquisition of LionFish Litigation Finance Limited (“LionFish”) from AIM-listed professional services firm RBG Holdings Plc (“RBG”).

Aristata Capital is pleased to announce that it has secured nearly £52 million of capital at final closing for its first impact litigation fund, Aristata Impact Litigation Fund I LP (AILF I).

Missouri Governor Michael Parson signed an omnibus bill, SB 103, containing sweeping new regulations for the growing industry of consumer legal funding—bringing meaningful oversight of provider companies for the first time in the state’s history.

Omni Bridgeway is pleased to welcome Leora Ben-Ami and the Honorable Winifred Y. Smith (Ret.) to its Investment Committee. These nationally regarded legal industry professionals bring decades of experience and a wealth of knowledge to Omni Bridgeway’s investment process. Ms. Ben-Ami will leverage her extensive background in intellectual property to review and evaluate cases relevant to the company’s global IP portfolio. Judge Smith joins the US Investment Committee, where she will consider a variety of complex commercial cases.

The following article was contributed by Julia DiCristofaro, program administrator at The Milestone Foundation.

“I have a good client who is in need of pre-settlement funding, which I almost always advise against. But she is desperate, and this case will settle soon. Do you think you can help?”

European businesses and consumers could be left without access to a vital financing tool providing access to justice, experts warn today.