Third-Party Financing of Litigation: Legal Approaches and a Formal Model

Dominique Demougin () and Felix Maultzsch

CESifo Economic Studies, 2014, vol. 60, issue 3, 525-553

Abstract: In the article, we discuss the phenomenon of third-party financing of lawsuits, which has been subject to intense debate from a legal as well as from an economic point of view. Drawing on the examples of Germany, Australia, and the United States, we show in Part I that different legal systems still take different approaches to third-party financing and its economic implications. In Part II, we introduce a stylized model that abstracts from the peculiarities of specific legal systems and in which we compare third-party financing of lawsuits with incentive fees for lawyers. We conclude that a combination of contingency fees and third-party financing may be the best way to overcome agency problems and financial constraints of would-be plaintiffs who would like to pursue meritorious claims. (JEL codes: K41)

Date: 2014
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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