CAT rules in favour of claimants and funders as trucks cartel dispute intensifies

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CAT rules in favour of claimants and funders as trucks cartel dispute intensifies

The Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) has today (29 October) laid down a marker in the ongoing trucks cartel dispute, giving the go ahead for claimants to bring their case to court through litigation funding.

The truck cartel dispute concerns six of the world’s largest truck manufacturers facing collective action claims. The European Commission dealt a €2.9bn fine in July 2016 for price fixing, which led the way for compensation claims from those who purchased or leased trucks from 1997 onwards. Continue reading “CAT rules in favour of claimants and funders as trucks cartel dispute intensifies”

Pre-float DWF hires GC as another litigation funder lists and Burford secures $1.6bn

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Pre-float DWF hires GC as another litigation funder lists and Burford secures $1.6bn

DWF has appointed a group general counsel (GC) ahead of its touted London Stock Exchange (LSE) listing early next year.

Litigation finance, meanwhile, has attracted more investor cash after Australian funder Litigation Capital Management (LCM) rose £20m on listing and Burford Capital secured £1.6bn in funding for new litigation investments.  Continue reading “Pre-float DWF hires GC as another litigation funder lists and Burford secures $1.6bn”

The disputes funding debate: The value of everything

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The disputes funding debate: The value of everything

Craig Arnott, Burford Capital: Litigation finance used to be perceived as a last-ditch resort for impecunious clients. That has transformed, largely because of cost pressure. It is just at the start of the change, especially on the corporate side and what possibilities there are for outsourcing. It seems a little crude, but it is an outsourcing alternative for corporates that involves financing in a way that would be thought of as outsourcing before, but is a way in which they can take books of business off their balance sheet.

Tim Brown, RPC: Several years ago we went to a bank and spoke to somebody fairly high up about the possibility of them instructing RPC to act for them under 100% CFAs [conditional fee agreements]. The offer was for them to select some cases, give them to us, and if we considered they had a good chance of success then we would do them effectively at no cost, which had the benefit of removing the cost risk from the balance sheet. The lawyer there was very interested but he came back about a month later and said the necessary people were interested but not at the moment and we asked why. Continue reading “The disputes funding debate: The value of everything”

Disputes round-up: Burford records staggering 109% income boost as SFO branded ‘embarrassing’ by judge

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Disputes round-up: Burford records staggering 109% income boost as SFO branded ‘embarrassing’ by judge

A resounding indication of the impact funders are having on the disputes market, Burford Capital has unveiled impressive financial results underlined by a 109% rise in income.

Elsewhere, the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has been chastised by a judge over the quality of one of its witnesses, while Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) has won a High Court case after the first use of predictive coding technology. Continue reading “Disputes round-up: Burford records staggering 109% income boost as SFO branded ‘embarrassing’ by judge”

Disputes round-up: Burford launches insurance business while Fieldfisher spin-off begins £100m unequal pay claim

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Disputes round-up: Burford launches insurance business while Fieldfisher spin-off begins £100m unequal pay claim

Disputes funder Burford Capital is launching a separate insurance company to cover clients’ adverse costs risk, while Fieldfisher’s consumer-led litigation spinoff Roscoe Reid is beginning a potential £100m equal pay claim against retail giant Morrisons.

In other market news, the Law Society has voiced concerns over reforms proposed by the Disclosure Working Group (DWG) to combat voluminous disclosure. Continue reading “Disputes round-up: Burford launches insurance business while Fieldfisher spin-off begins £100m unequal pay claim”

UK banks’ £14.6bn legal costs account for over half of FTSE 100 litigation liabilities

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In the post-Lehman landscape, banking and litigation have become common bedfellows, and research published by Thomson Reuters this week shows that the UK’s four biggest banks’ litigation and regulatory provisions make up over half of the FTSE 100’s litigation costs.

The research showed that overall the FTSE 100 set aside £26.2bn during 2016 to tackle litigation and regulatory investigation expenses (including fines), with £14.6bn of that figure being spent exclusively by the four biggest banks in the UK: Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds Banking Group and Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS). However this is down on 2015, when FTSE 100 litigation provisions hit a record £31.1bn, with money set aside by banks also hitting a record £17.3bn. Continue reading “UK banks’ £14.6bn legal costs account for over half of FTSE 100 litigation liabilities”

Burford Capital grows from £80m startup to post record 130% income growth over year

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Burford Capital grows from £80m startup to post record 130% income growth over year

Litigation funder Burford Capital generated more profit in the first half of 2017 than any full year in its history, revealing a total income rise of 130% from last June to $175.5m.

The jump for the company, which operates in law as an alternative business structure, was a result of a booming investment income which rose by 148% to $161.6m in the same time period, the firm said. Continue reading “Burford Capital grows from £80m startup to post record 130% income growth over year”

Excalibur judgment leaves dispute funders with £20m bill

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In November the long-running Excalibur litigation came to a head as London’s Court of Appeal (CoA) found the third-party funders who bankrolled the case liable for the successful defendants’ £20m indemnity costs.

The dispute stems from the original litigation in 2013, a $1.6bn energy battle brought by Excalibur Ventures against Gulf Keystone Petroleum and Texas Keystone where it was alleged it was entitled to a 30% share in the rights of four oil fields in Kurdistan.

Continue reading “Excalibur judgment leaves dispute funders with £20m bill”

A 17-year dispute: Roadchef workers win legal battle against DAC Beachcroft client over employee shares

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Hundreds of workers at motorway service operator Roadchef are set to share a windfall after a 17-year long legal battle against the company’s former chief executive regarding an employee share option scheme.

Continue reading “A 17-year dispute: Roadchef workers win legal battle against DAC Beachcroft client over employee shares”