Businesses Businesses can use commercial Business Litigation Financing from Curiam to:
- Pay legal fees and expenses, which allows the business to hire lawyers that might otherwise have been unwilling or unable to work on a full contingency;
- Avoid the negative accounting treatment of ongoing litigation expenses;
- Monetize judgments that are on appeal; and
- Put capital to its highest and best use.
Business Litigation Financing from Curiam is non-recourse, which means that Curiam does not receive anything unless the litigation is successful.
The Benefits of Commercial Litigation Funding
Business Litigation Financing is no longer reserved for claimholders who do not have the money to pursue litigation claims. That may still be an important reason to seek funding, but even well-capitalized businesses can benefit from outside funding. Here are some of the advantages:
Financing allows claimants to pursue strong but complicated cases that they might not otherwise be able to afford.
Outside funding gives plaintiffs staying power, no matter how much money the defendants devote to defending the claims. In other words, it gives anyone with a strong commercial claim access to justice. And because outside funding entails significant due diligence, only strong claims end up being financed.
Financing allows a claimholder to choose the lawyers it wants, even if those lawyers cannot work on a fully contingent basis.
A claimholder should not have to choose between its preferred lawyer and its preferred fee structure. But not all lawyers are able to offer fully contingent-fee arrangements. Litigation funding can allow the law firm to get paid as the work is done without exposing the claimholder to ongoing legal expenses.
Financing can free up capital for more productive uses.
Spending money on litigation is not always the best use of capital, especially for a growing business. Funding allows a business to use capital it otherwise would have spent on legal fees and expenses to pursue innovative new strategies, hire new employees, or take any other steps necessary to grow the business.
Financing puts plaintiffs in a strong bargaining position for settlement.
In a world where defendants often try to outspend plaintiffs to encourage early and discounted settlements, it is important to have the backing of a litigation funder to allow the claimholder to see the litigation through to its most equitable conclusion.
Financing can alleviate the burdens of negative accounting treatment.
Money spent on litigation fees or expenses is treated for accounting purposes as an immediate expense, which reduces earnings. Litigation recoveries, on the other hand, usually are treated as non-recurring or extraordinary items for the purposes of financial reporting.
Curiam’s Investment Guidelines
Curiam invests in individual cases and portfolios of cases that have a strong chance of success. Funding is available at any stage in the litigation process. But no matter the stage, the defendant must have the ability to satisfy a judgment, and potential damages must be significant enough to make the investment sensible to all parties involved. Curiam generally looks to invest $1 million or more. There is no upper limit on the size of an investment that Curiam will consider.
The process for investing is simple. A potential recipient of funding must sign a nondisclosure agreement with Curiam and then provide information necessary for Curiam to evaluate the investment. This information may include key court filings, an estimate of damages, and a proposed budget. Here is a typical investment timeline:
- Day 1 Execute non-disclosure agreement and request key information on potential litigation.
- Weeks 1 – 3 Evaluate the investment through legal and financial due diligence.
- Week 3 Prepare investment documents and agree on terms; deploy capital.
- Ongoing Monitor investment to assess progress and understand any adjustments to timeline or budget.
After Curiam invests, it monitors the litigation to assess progress and to understand any adjustments made to either the timeline or the budget. Curiam does not control litigation strategy or settlement; it merely provides the tools needed for success.
Why Choose Curiam?
Curiam’s team has decades of experience working on some of the largest and most complex litigations in United States history. Curiam also has a streamlined investment process that allows it to make decisions more quickly than many litigation funders. Finally, Curiam has a reliable and transparent source of capital.