Oasis Financial Founder Sues Kirkland & Ellis and Littler Mendelson
Last week, we reported on Gary Chodes’ lawsuit against D.E. Shaw. Chodes is the founder of consumer legal funder Oasis Financial, which Shaw took a majority stake in over a decade ago. In 2016, Shaw sold Oasis to Parthenon, a private equity group. Among other things, Chodes alleges that the sale was materially low, and done for the benefit of individuals at both Shaw and the law firms they employed. Now, Chodes is expanding his lawsuit to include Kirkland and Littler.
GLS Capital Seeks Common Fund Order in VW Claim
Litigation funder GLS Capital backed the Bannister Law portion of a class action against Volkswagen, which alleged the vehicle manufacturer cheated on emissions standards test. A concurrent action was run by Maurice Blackburn, and the dual-class action is due to settle for $87-$127MM. GLS is seeking a common fund order to recoup 10% of the Bannister portion of the claim.
Legalist Lands $100MM Fundraise
Legalist, the San Francisco-based AI-driven litigation funding platform, has landed a $100MM funding round. The firm will deploy the capital into 100-200 cases of at most $1MM each.
Validity Finance Adds Experienced Dispute Funder Ronit Cohen to Investment Team, Secures Additional $50 Million in Capital Commitments
NEW YORK (September 18, 2019) – Litigation funder Validity Finance continues to build its U.S. investment team while expanding its capital base. The firm announced the arrival of Ronit Cohen, who joins Validity as portfolio counsel. A former trial lawyer who practiced at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett and O’Melveny, Ms. Cohen transitioned to litigation finance in 2012 and spent the past seven years as an investment professional at Bentham IMF.
New Zealand to Implement First-Ever ‘Opt Out’ Class Action in Claims Funding Australia Case
Claims Funding Australia is financing a class action against government insurer Southern Response. The claim alleges that the government owed hundreds of millions of dollars to thousands of claim holders who were underpaid on their earthquake insurance claims. In a landmark ruling, a New Zealand court has declared the case to be ‘opt out,’ which means claimants will automatically entered into the claimant pool.
WhatsApp Messages Reveal How Burford Executive Acquired Billionaire’s Sex Tape
Burford asset-tracing executive Daniel Hall has been accused by Russian firm NovoShip of stealing company secrets and horse-trading them for a sex tape of billionaire Harry Sargeant III. Hall is investigating Sargeant in a separate claim. Now, leaked WhatsApp messages reveal how Hall allegedly procured the tape in the first place.
Black Diamond Funding Sues Famous Personal Injury Lawyer Neil Flit for Failure to Repay Loans
Law firm funder Black Diamond Funding is suing Neil Flit for failure to repay loans contingent on successful case outcomes. Black Diamond alleges Flit concluded cases and was remunerated, but never compensated Black Diamond. Neil Flit is famous for his “Been Hit, Call Flit” billboards and marketing materials.
Balance REV to Fund $1B Class Action Against IAG
Insurance Australia Group (IAG) is estimating that a class action being waged against it could be worth as much as $1B. Global funder Balance REV is financing the claim, which alleges that customers were sold ‘add-on’ insurance products that had little-to-no financial value.
IMF Bentham Reaches Settlement with UGL
The litigation funder has announced a settlement in a securities class action being funded against UGL, a subsidiary of CIMIC Group.
Augusta raises additional $115m for litigation and dispute funding
London, 12th September 2019. Augusta, the UK’s largest litigation and disputes funder by case volume today announces it has raised a further US $115m from a multi-billion-dollar US-based investment manager.
