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Therium Funds Multi-Billion Pound Action Alleging Truck Cartel Price Collusion 

Six producers of big rigs have allegedly conspired in a 14-year scheme to defraud government regulators over emissions mandates. The Competition Appeal Tribunal has approved a £2B claim marking a historic first for United Kingdom collective actions. The Road Haulage Association (RHA) is representing an estimated 18,000 claimants as the beneficiaries of the hopeful award. 

Law Gazette reports that Therium is the litigation funder that will earn a total of 6% of the award’s proceeds of anything over £2B. Therium will be granted 8% of an award of over £3B. Therium will NET 30% of collective proceeds if the award amounts to anything less than £150M. While the payout ratio of the funding deal is large, claimants say litigation would not be possible without access to third party investment. 

Similarly, RHA claims that the case’s lifespan may vary as well, depending on tribunal preference of proceedings. RHA underscores the importance of the litigation agreement’s scaled architecture. 

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Pogust Goodhead Targets BHP in £1.3B Conspiracy

International plaintiffs’ firm Pogust Goodhead has opened a fresh front in the marathon litigation over the 2015 Fundão dam collapse, dispatching a pre-action letter that accuses BHP, Vale and their joint-venture Samarco of orchestrating an unlawful plot to sabotage the English proceedings.

Acting through U.S. counsel Orrick, the firm says the miners induced claimants to sign cut-price settlements in Brazil, interfered with existing retainers and weaponised redress programmes run by the Renova Foundation to starve the London group action of participants. Pogust Goodhead pegs its damages at more than £1.3 billion—roughly the fees and uplifts it stands to lose if the 620,000-strong claimant cohort is picked off piecemeal.

An article in Reuters says the firm will argue three causes of action—unlawful means conspiracy, inducement of breach of contract and enforcement of its equitable lien—and blames the defendants’ constitutional challenge in Brazil (ADPF 1178) and the proposed “Repactuação” mega-settlement for the intensified pressure campaign.

The pre-action salvo lands just months after the close of a 13-week liability trial against BHP in London; judgment is due later this year, with a quantum phase already on the docket for 2026. Separately, Vale and BHP confront contempt allegations for allegedly funding satellite litigation to derail municipal claims. Should the new claim proceed, the miners could face parallel exposure not only for compensatory payouts—estimated at up to £36 billion—but also for the law firm’s lost fees and financing costs, which Pogust Goodhead says now exceed $1 billion.

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Court Shields Haptic’s Litigation-Funding Files From Apple

By John Freund |

A Northern District of California decision has handed patent plaintiff Haptic Inc. an important procedural win in its infringement fight with Apple over the iPhone’s “Back Tap” feature.

An article in eDiscovery Today by Doug Austin details Judge Jacqueline Corley’s ruling that work-product protection extends to Haptic’s damages analyses and related documents that were shared with a third-party litigation funder during due diligence.

Although Apple argued that those materials might reveal funder influence over strategy or settlement posture, the court held that Apple showed no “substantial need” sufficient to overcome the privilege. The opinion also rejects Apple’s broader bid for a blanket production of Haptic-funder communications, finding the parties had executed robust NDA and common-interest agreements that preserved confidentiality and avoided waiver. Only royalty-base spreadsheets directly relevant to Georgia-Pacific damages factors must be produced, but even those remain shielded from broader disclosure.

Judge Corley’s order is the latest in a string of decisions limiting discovery into financing arrangements unless a defendant can identify concrete, case-specific prejudice. For funders, the ruling underscores the importance of tight contractual language—and disciplined information flows—in preserving privilege. For corporate defendants, it signals that speculative concerns about control or conflicts will not, standing alone, open the door to funder dossiers.

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Beasley Allen Beats J&J Funding Discovery Bid

By John Freund |

Johnson & Johnson’s quest to unmask the financial backers behind the avalanche of talc-cancer claims just hit another wall. A special master overseeing the federal multidistrict litigation has rejected the company’s demand that plaintiffs’ firm Beasley Allen disclose its third-party funding agreements and related communications. The ruling affirms that the materials are protected attorney work product and that J&J failed to show any “substantial need” that would override that privilege.

Law360 reports that J&J argued funders might be steering litigation strategy or settlement positions, threatening fairness to the defendants. The special master disagreed, noting Beasley Allen’s lawyers, not its financiers, control the case and that J&J offered no concrete evidence of undue influence.

The decision aligns with a growing body of federal authority allowing discovery only when a defendant can articulate specific, non-speculative concerns. For funders, the order underscores that carefully structured agreements—and disciplined funder conduct—can withstand aggressive discovery campaigns even in headline-grabbing mass-torts.

The outcome is another tactical setback for J&J as it defends more than 60,000 ovarian- and mesothelioma-related suits while pursuing parallel bankruptcy maneuvers through subsidiary Red River Talc. For the legal-finance community, the ruling reinforces work-product boundaries and signals that courts remain wary of turning funding discovery into a fishing expedition.