Many family lawyers are awaiting the outcome of a case which is being heard in the Court of Appeal at the moment. The decision may affect the ability of future clients to take on litigation loans to fund their cases as it may lead to higher rates or products being withdrawn from the market.
In the case of Simon -v- Simon & Level the wife took out litigation loans to the tune of nearly 1m from Level (a trading name of Integro funding). However, at the FDR hearing she entered into an agreement with her husband after parting ways with her legal team.
The agreement meant she could reside at a property owned by her husband’s trust for life, in exchange for relinquishing the rights to a substantial lump sum, which meant she had no means of paying the loan back.
The case centres around the ability of funders to join as a party in the case of financial remedy proceedings as in the case of Level, a decision upheld in 2022 in the High Court.
Finding against Level may lead to less appetite to lend or sky high rates due to risk concerns.
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