Jeremy Opolsky on the benefits of third party litigation funding

Jeremy Opolsky has told The Lawyers Daily that in a recent unanimous decision, the “Supreme Court of Canada proceeded...cautiously with respect to litigation funding”.

The article discusses the reasons for the ruling in favour of third party litigation financing in Québec inc. v. Callidus Capital Corp. 2020 SCC 10, a decision which Jeremy notes, has provided access to justice for a debtor company who claimed it could not afford to pursue litigation.

Jeremy predicted that as a result of the decision, litigation funding agreements (LFAs) will be used more often to fund future litigation of companies who are dealing with insolvency.

Speaking further on the decision, Jeremy told the publication that it provides further confirmation that LFAs can advance the Companies' Creditor Arrangement Act’s objective to realize the value of a debtor company’s assets. He pointed out that in the Callidus case, a damages claim was the debtors only asset.  

“The other [takeaway] is that the Supreme Court of Canada proceeded ... cautiously with respect to litigation funding, but it did confirm that litigation funding is not per se illegal, and the implication is that litigation funding is here to stay” Jeremy noted.

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