The Litigation Funding Transparency Act requires parties and lawyers in large civil lawsuits—including class actions, multidistrict litigation, and coordinated cases with 100+ claims—to publicly disclose who is financially backing the case, particularly if that funding comes from foreign governments, foreign persons, or sovereign wealth funds. Parties must identify third-party funders within 10 days of signing a funding agreement or when filing the lawsuit, whichever is later, and must provide copies of funding agreements to the court unless the judge orders otherwise. The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts must report to Congress every 120 days on all identified foreign and commercial funders, including how much money they provided and which cases they're funding. The law also prohibits third-party funders from controlling litigation strategy or settlement decisions and bars them from accessing confidential discovery materials. Violations are enforceable through existing civil procedure sanctions and contempt of court, with no specific funding allocation mentioned in the legislation. The bill applies to all cases pending or filed after its enactment.
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