Game Changes for Litigation Funders as Australian Supreme Court Revokes Courts’ Power to Initiate Common Fund Orders
In a bid to reduce the number of class actions in Australia, the Aussie Supreme Court has struck down common fund orders, which allow courts to order that all members of a class pay a portion of their settlement or payout to the litigation funder, regardless of whether they signed an agreement with that funder. The ruling changes the game for class action funding in Australia.
LawCoin to Tokenize Litigation Finance
LawCoin, a company that bills itself as the first platform for investing in litigation finance on the blockchain, has announced plans to tokenize its litigation finance portfolio investment vehicle, LawCoin Investments.
Allianz Identifies Five Risk Trends for Directors and Officers in 2020
NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–The range of risks facing company executives or directors and officers (D&Os) – as well as resulting insurance claims scenarios – has increased significantly in recent years. With corporate management under the spotlight like never before, a new report by insurer Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty (AGCS) highlights five mega trends that will have significant risk implications for senior management in 2020 and beyond. The report, “Directors And Officers Insurance Insights 2020”, also examines some of the factors which are driving recent changes in the D&O insurance market after a period of sustained large loss activity.
IMF Bentham Formally Jumps into Contentious CBL Class Action
Last week, we reported on the contentious back-and-forth between litigation funders LPF Group and IMF Bentham. LPF accused IMF of muddying the waters with a potential shareholder action against failed insurer CBL, whom LPF is already bankrolling an action against. Now, IMF Bentham has formally stepped into the fray, after law firm Glaister Ennor filed a shareholder action which the Aussie-based funder is backing on a no-win, no-fee basis.
Arowana Unfazed by LPF Group’s Class Action
Arowana, the New Zealand company that established Intueri Education Group in 2010, took it public in 2014, then liquidated it in 2017, is facing a potential class action lawsuit by Adina Thorn Lawyers and funded by LPF Group. However Arowana has clearly stated that the company is confident any class action against it stands no chance of success.
Litigation Funding Brokers Signal the Maturation of a Growing Industry
With rapid inflows of capital permeating the litigation funding space, there is arguably some deployment pressure on litigation funders to invest their newfound funds. Couple this with the growing acceptance of litigation funding amongst both private practice lawyers and in-house counsel, and you have a perfect recipe for the growth of litigation funding brokers.
IMF Bentham Expects Nine-Figure Windfall from Queensland Flooding Class Action
IMF Bentham has announced potential income of $100MM-$130MM from its backing of the Queensland flooding class action.
Muddy Waters Attack Turns Personal: Accusations of Secret Payouts to Burford Co-Founders
Note — the Muddy Waters accusations were previously reported on August 18, 2019.
One of the weightier accusations from Muddy Waters’ allegation against Burford Capital last August was that Burford made millions of dollars in secret payments to employees, including co-founders Christopher Bogart and Jonathan Molot.
Litigation Funders Chomping at the Bit to Invest in Obamacare Insurance Claims
Litigation funders have long been vying to get a piece of Obamacare insurance claims, which allege the federal government failed to make good on a host of payments to health insurers. Now that the Supreme Court has decided to hear several of those claims, funders have begun reaching out to insurers with more attractive terms and pricing.
Litigation Funders Spar as LPF Group Complains to ASIC About IMF Bentham
Litigation funder LPF Group is funding a shareholder class action against the now-defunct insurance company CBL Corp., as well as its former directors. LPF has complained to ASIC, an Australian regulator, about rival funder IMF Bentham’s proposed action, which may end up targeting only CBL and not the former directors.
