If you are a plaintiff in a personal injury case or any other type of lawsuit, you may be considering a lawsuit loan to help cover your expenses. Through a lawsuit loan, you can access the cash you need right away. The lenders advance money to plaintiffs expecting that they will pay it back after receiving their judgment award or settlement.
The lawsuit lending industry is relatively new and mostly unregulated. It is also highly criticized because it lacks the business practices and transparency that most of the other lending industries have. Due to its lack of transparency, many plaintiffs find it challenging to decide whether to pursue the Nevada lawsuit loan.
Government Regulations on Lending
The federal and state governments have specific laws and regulations put in place to protect borrowers from unscrupulous lenders in most lines of consumer credit. These laws apply to credit card applications, housing loans, automobile installment loans, and more. They regulate consumer credit by doing the following:
Controlling the Terms of the Loan
Here, the federal government and some state governments regulate the disclosure of the loan terms, including the life of the loan, how the interest is calculated, and penalties for failure to repay the loan. The regulations also dictate other fees included in the loan and the style in which loan documents are printed.
Limiting the Interest Charged by the Lender
The state regulates the interest rates that the lender can charge on loan and penalizes those that charge unreasonably high interests.
These regulations protect the consumer by ensuring that the lenders do not take advantage of them and by allowing them to make an informed decision about the loan by comparing the terms of different lenders.
Lawsuit Lending Is Generally Unregulated
Unlike most of the other forms of lending, such as student loans and mortgages, lawsuit loans do not have any federal government regulations. However, some states have put in place consumer safeguards to protect individuals who take these loans.
One of the main reasons why lawsuit lending lacks regulations is because the industry argues that funding a lawsuit isn’t primarily a loan; therefore, the usual regulations and laws are not applicable.
Unlike regular loans, lawsuit loans are non-recourse. This means that if the plaintiffs lose the case, they do not have to repay the money. Instead of being considered as a loan, lawsuit lending is characterized as a non-recourse purchase of a portion of the potential settlement or judgment award to be awarded to the lawsuit in the future. The lawsuit lending industry has managed to convince the legislators in some states not to regulate their products through this argument.
Opposition to Lawsuit Loans
Due to their lack of regulations, lawsuit loans gather a lot of criticism from consumer advocacy groups. The advocacy groups oppose the loans arguing that this type of lending encourages litigation by encouraging the plaintiffs to seek higher settlements from their cases.
Furthermore, their high-interest rates and fees can leave borrowers with little or no money, even after they receive compensation from their lawsuit. Many argue that lawsuit lending leads to prolonged litigation and unjust recovery, which conflicts with the justice system’s interest.
Finding the Right Lawsuit Loan
Because most states have little or no regulations to protect the consumer when acquiring lawsuit loans, it is crucial to be vigilant if you consider this type of funding. Consult various Nevada lawsuit loan lenders and ask them for information so that you can understand what the loans entail and make an informed decision whether the loan would be a wise financial decision based on your situation. It is also essential to shop around for the best deal, with the most favorable terms.