A push to reveal litigation funding has spread to the U.S. Senate, where new legislation has drawn a mixture of praise and criticism from plaintiff and defense attorneys, the National Law Journal. U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), along with Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), introduced the "Litigation Funding Transparency Act of 2018" on May 10. The bill would require disclosure of third-party litigation funding in class actions and multidistrict litigation within 10 days of a case filing, or 10 days after a funding deal. It would also require disclosure of financing that provides cash to plaintiffs. It’s more expansive than a bill passed out of the U.S. House of Representatives last year calling for disclosures only in class actions, and more limiting than legislation enacted in Wisconsin requiring disclosure of third-party financing in all types of state court cases there. The bill comes as a federal rules advisory committee considers such disclosures in multi-district litigation. Read more.
Click here to review the bill text.
