Third-party Litigation Funding – UK Decision Illustrates Complexities Of Regulation

Supreme Court's decision in R (on the application of PACCAR Inc and others) v Competition Appeal Tribunal and others [2023] UKSC 28

The UK Supreme Court recently handed down an important judgment concerning the statutory interpretation of the legislative framework regulating litigation funding agreements¹. The litigation funding agreements ("LFAs") at issue in the case were entered into to support opt-out collective litigation proceedings before the Competition Appeal Tribunal and the judgment stands to affect all LFAs which entitle funders to payments which are based on the level of damages recovered in the litigation.

The decision has been the subject of significant press attention and legal commentary. Its implications will be particularly acute, not only for competition litigation in England, but for collective proceedings more generally, given the surge in litigation funding in recent years to facilitate, in particular, multi-claimant actions in relation