Champerty And Maintenance Vs Litigation Loans

• Published date: 08 April 2021
• Law Firm: McCague Borlack LLP
• Author: Mr Van Krkachovski and Ryan R. Taylor

Litigation Loans and Adverse Cost Insurance - An Update

The Doctrines of Champerty and Maintenance

Following the publication of the article Litigation Loans and Adverse Cost Insurance in March 2021, the writers received a question regarding the interplay between the doctrines of champerty and maintenance and its effect on litigation loans.

The Black's Law Dictionary definition of "maintenance" is as follows:

An officious intermeddling in a lawsuit by a non-party by maintaining, supporting or assisting either party, with money or otherwise, to prosecute or defend the litigation.

"Champerty" is defined by Black's Law Dictionary as follows:

A bargain between a stranger and a party to a lawsuit by which the stranger pursues the party's claim in consideration of receiving part of any judgment proceeds; it is one type of "maintenance", the more general term which refers to maintaining, supporting or promoting another person's litigation.

Both of these concepts are based on English...