Back in April we wrote a blog post highlighting the emergence of litigation funding. While many states still oppose this practice and believe it will increase unnecessarily litigation as well as provide influence to parties other than those involved in business lawsuits, some states have begun to lessen their restrictions on litigation financing.

On January 10, Illinois joined a small group of states opting to allow outside financial backing of litigation. The decision came as a result of pre-trial discovery in Miller UK Ltd. v. Caterpillar. A federal judge ruled not only that the plaintiff could receive money from outside sources, but also that Miller UK Ltd. was not responsible for making the details of the financial arrangement available to the defendant.

Litigation funding could change the ability of small companies to fund their business lawsuits, such as those for breach of contract, insurance coverage, or shareholder disputes. Despite opposition to litigation funding, this decision and others in U.S. states could have influence on other states with regard to this subject.

As we mentioned in our earlier post, The Patterson Law Firm provides several alternatives to the traditional hourly rate (including taking cases on a contingent fee basis).  To learn more about the services we offer as well as our CAP Program (which highlights alternative billing methods), visit pattersonlawfirm.com or call (312) 223-1699.