As anticipated in our previous post on this topic, the Report Stage debate in the Lords yesterday (11 March 2024) of the Digital Markets, Competition and Competition (DMCC) Bill saw the UK Government confirm that “it will quickly bring forward a separate Bill” to provide for the enforceability of litigation funding agreements generally, as had been announced in the Lord Chancellor’s press release last week. One Peer wryly observed that “quickly” was “rather better than the ministerial ‘in due course’.” This may point to the Bill being introduced in Parliament over the next few weeks, rather than months.
The new legislation means that the government has now removed a clause from the DMCC Bill that would have addressed the enforceability of LFAs only in opt-out collective proceedings before the Competition Appeal Tribunal (which was the scope of the Supreme Court’s decision last year in PACCAR). That clause is no longer necessary because the new Bill will seek to address LFAs in all types of claim.
In parallel, and once again as expected, a broad review of the litigation funding sector will be undertaken by the Civil Justice Council (CJC). The outline and potential timetable should be published very soon, with the Minister informing Peers that the CJC review: “will ensure that claimants can get the best deal and it will expressly consider the need for further regulation or safeguards. Its terms of reference will be announced in the coming days.”
While the Government recognise the important role that litigation funding can play in facilitating access to justice, we are not blind to some of the challenges and opportunities to reform and improve the funding system
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