Thursday, November 5, 2009

How Can You Determine Settlement Funding Costs?


By Dr. Tom Rhudy

Applicants want many questions answered, but high on the list is the cost of settlement funding. It should come as little surprise that no single answer to this question exists.

Settlement loan costs will vary with the amount to be loaned, the case's complexity, the case's status in the litigation-process, the plaintiff's likelihood of success in the claim, and the age of the case. After submitting your application, both you and your attorney will be contacted to discuss your case further and to address issues such as those previously identified.

Minimization of risk will be high on the lawsuit loan funder's mind in assessing your case, as is true in all such ventures that are speculative in nature. Another impediment to funding occurs when the applicant fails to identify the fact that previous settlement loans have been obtained. Previous settlement funding in a specific case is another factor that will have an effect on your ability to obtain a lawsuit loan.

Many applicants, as well as their attorneys, want to know how a lawsuit loan will affect the judgment. There are a number of possibilities and we will discuss the most likely outcomes.

The best possible outcome is that your case settles for more than anticipated after settlement funding has been obtained. In this scenario, you receive more money and your attorney, in contingency-fee cases, receives a higher fee.

If you have obtained settlement funding and your case settles for exactly what you expected, neither your recovery nor the attorney's fee will be affected. Your ability to obtain a settlement loan is that you are able see the claim through to completion, and the recovery is likely to be larger than may have otherwise been obtained if limited finances had forced you to settle prematurely.

If you have obtained a lawsuit loan and you recover less than anticipated, you, as well as all involved parties, will likely receive less than you may have otherwise. It is important to realize, however, that it is unlikely that the defendant would have offered as much as you ultimately recovered.

In the scenario in which you lose the case and there is no recovery, if you've obtained a lawsuit loan, you win! As a non-recourse instrument, settlement funding is only repaid if you obtain a recovery.

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