The Royal Court of Jersey has handed down its judgment in the
most recent hearing of the proceedings brought by Barclays Wealth
Trustees (Jersey) Limited and Barclays Wealth Fund Managers
(Jersey) Limited as trustee and manager of the R2R Funds against
the former trustee and manager, Equity Trust (Jersey) Limited and
Equity Trust Services Limited.
The significance of this judgment is that this was the first
challenge to a litigation funding arrangement. The earlier landmark
decision reached In the Matter of the Valetta Trust [2011] JRC
227, on the validity of third party litigation funding arose
out of a Beddoe application and was therefore uncontested.
The most recent judgment reinforced the earlier decision, namely
that a properly structured litigation funding agreement will not
infringe the laws against champerty and maintenance and will not be
contrary to the Code of 1771.
Prior to the Valetta Trust case, whilst it had long been
recognised by Third Party Litigation funders based in the United
Kingdom that the Channel Islands have a well established litigation
market, there had been no established domestic market for funding.
Moreover, until the decision of the Royal Court in the Valetta
case, the legality and enforceability of funding agreements in
Jersey remained untested, unlike in the United Kingdom and
elsewhere.
However, as a result of the arguments presented to it by Advocate
Lisa Springate of Bedell Cristin (who acts on behalf of the
Representors and the new trustee together with Advocate Robert
Gardner), the Royal Court concluded that public policy strongly
pointed towards the agreement in question being regarded as valid
and enforceable.
The importance of the most recent decision to litigation funders
and those contemplating litigation in Jersey is that once again it
has been recognised that a funding agreement is in the interests of
justice and is to be encouraged, provided that it is properly
structured.
In the most recent judgment, the Bailiff stated "A person
bringing an action is entitled to get his case before the Court.
Access to justice is of the first importance. There is a strong
public interest in persons being able to obtain funding to enable
them to bring proceedings to vindicate their
rights."
Please click here to read the judgment.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.