Justice for Profit: A Comparative Analysis of Australian, Canadian and U.S. Third Party Litigation Funding

Abstract

Third party litigation funding (TPLF) has emerged as one of the most important developments in civil litigation. Courts and policymakers in several countries are looking to each other as they debate the costs and benefits of this growing industry and the need for regulatory oversight. Such cross-pollination in the public and jurisprudential debates on TPLF can be enormously helpful, but must be approached with caution. The TPLF industry operates in very different procedural environments, and any comparative analysis must take into account the various jurisdictions’ unique litigation culture and architecture. In this paper, the authors explore TPLF in the United States, Australia and Canada, with a focus on class action litigation in the latter two jurisdictions. They examine the historical