New York Post Editorial: “More Reason To Crack Down On The Lawsuit-Lending Industry”
An editorial in the New York Post says that New York needs to crack down on “legal lenders.” The editorial was spurred by the indictment of a group of lawyers and doctors who allegedly filed more than $30 million worth of fraudulent slip-and-fall claims in hundreds of bogus lawsuits against New York City businesses.
All of these suits were funded by “legal-lending sharks,” and many had interest rates of 50 percent to 100 percent for loans to “clients” to cover the litigation costs.
“This virtually unregulated industry preys on the vulnerable, cashing in on their distress — and also enables outrageous nuisance suits that should never see the courthouse door, blackmailing victims (including city government) into settling rather than bear the expense of trial,” the editorial reads in part.