Supreme Court Rules Most Litigation Funding Agreements are Unlawful

Over the past two decades, litigation funding in the UK has become increasingly important and more commonly used.

Once deemed contrary to public policy and unlawful, litigation funding is now regarded as playing a significant role in providing access to justice.  Over £500 million of costs are incurred each year by litigation funders in the UK.  Funding is provided for all types of litigation, but it has played a particularly significant role in collective proceedings before the UK’s Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT).  As the Supreme Court (SC) explained in Merricks, in this type of group litigation the “monetary amount of the consumer’s individual loss means that it will rarely, if ever, be wise [for a] consumer to litigate alone.”

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