Reuters’ Alison Frankel Writes on the Potential for “Real Consequences” When TPLF Funders Bank on “Failsafe Personal Injury Litigation”
Reuters’ Alison Frankel writes on the recent request from Xarelto manufacturers to Judge Arnold New asking that he order plaintiffs’ firms in a prospective bellwether case to reveal any outside funding as the defendants are “entitled to know who is in control and who has a right to be consulted.”
“There’s some momentum toward disclosure of litigation funding deals,” writes Frankel, citing the Northern District of California standing order on disclosure of funding and the recent House passage of the Fairness in Class Action Litigation Act, which would require class action lawyers to disclose funders to judges and defendants.
Frankel notes that, while funders claim they do not back many class actions, “mass torts are another story.” Frankel concludes that if the Xarelto manufacturers make headway with their motion “there could be real consequences for hedge funds banking on supposedly failsafe personal injury litigation.”
