On May 23, 2025, Lee Brenner, Alicia Sharon, and Matthew Raber published “To be or not to be ... discoverable: The nationwide divide on third party litigation funders” in Westlaw Today. The following is an excerpt:
Lee Brenner, Alicia Sharon and Matthew Raber of Venable LLP discuss how courts and legislatures across the country are approaching the issue of litigation funding discovery.
Should courts permit litigants to conduct discovery into litigation funding, namely whether a third party is funding their adversary's litigation efforts?
Certainly, parties defending a case will want to know, "Who are we really litigating against, and what are their true motives?" "Who is the real party in interest here?"
And even if a litigation funder is not the same thing as a plaintiff, a funder may have a significant role to play in the case. After all, "[h]e who pays the piper may not always call the tune, but he'll likely have an influence on the playlist."
So, are litigation funding arrangements discoverable? While courts across the country are split on this issue, state legislatures and select judicial districts have begun to intervene and enact disclosure requirements relating to such funding.
Click here for the article.