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Director Mohsin Patel comments on the Ministry of Justice’s plans to reverse PACCAR litigation funding ruling

Director Mohsin Patel comments on the news that the Ministry of Justice is set to introduce a Bill to amend the law on litigation funding agreements, following the shock ruling in PACCAR v Competition Appeal Tribunal.

Mohsin’s comments were published in Law.com, Legal Futures and Commercial Dispute Resolution, 4 March 2024.

“This is very welcome news to funders, claimants and lawyers alike. Since PACCAR, we have seen large corporate Defendants gleefully take advantage of the uncertainty caused by PACCAR to engage in expensive and protracted satellite litigation, wasting precious court time with the aim of delaying the resolution of meritorious claims. Similarly, some claimants that took benefit of third party funding to achieve a financial resolution, have since opportunistically sought to unwind those arrangements with a view to avoiding payment to their funder.

“Sadly, the huge amount of time and resources expended dealing with the fallout of PACCAR is lost, but this new proposed legislation will provide much needed certainty and clarity for stakeholders in future.

“It will also mean that those funders that had pumped the brakes on investing in cases in E&W post-PACCAR, will be satisfied that we are in fact a sensible jurisdiction and that the legislative regime is one thing that they can tick off their list when considering the funding of cases in E&W.

“It is important that the Government considers any further reform in this area very carefully and does not take any steps that may jeopardise its development. This is particularly so given the importance of our legal system to ‘UK PLC’ at a time of economic stagflation.”