Is third party funding of competition law claims permitted?
Third party funding of litigation in England has historically been strongly discouraged by way of common law rules against maintenance and champerty. However, over time inroads have been made into these principles and the English judiciary is now adopting a more pragmatic and liberal approach to third party funding. The OFT recognises that the major obstacle to bringing competition actions is the cost and takes the view that third-party funding is an important potential source of funding which should be encouraged. Provided that the funding agreement does not give the funder the right to control the action or gives it an interest in the action itself (as opposed to a share of the proceeds), the funding agreement should not be in breach of the maintenance and champerty rules. The past year has seen significant growth in the litigation funding industry. This growth looks set to continue. The Financial Services Authority has recently given its approval to certain brokers to offer third pa
