Montana Title 31. Credit Transactions and Relationships § 31-4-102. Definitions

Current as of January 01, 2024 | Updated by Findlaw Staff

For the purposes of this part, the following definitions apply:

(1) “Consumer” means any person who is or may become a plaintiff, claimant, or complainant in conjunction with or in pursuit of a legal claim.

(2) “Entity” means any domestic or foreign corporation, partnership, limited partnership, limited liability company, trust, fund, plan, or any other business, enterprise, association, or organization of any kind or nature.

(3) “Legal claim” means a civil action, administrative proceeding, claim, or cause of action to recover damages or any form of monetary or injunctive relief in this state.

(4) “Legal representative” means an attorney or group of attorneys or law firm or group of law firms engaged to represent a consumer in conjunction with or in pursuit of a legal claim.

(5)(a) “Litigation financer” means any person or group of persons engaged in, or formed, created, or established for the purpose of engaging in, the business of litigation financing or any other business or economic activity in which a person or group of persons receive consideration of any kind in exchange for providing litigation financing.

(b) The term does not include:

(i) a party to the legal claim;

(ii) a legal representative engaged directly, or indirectly through another legal representative, to represent a party in conjunction with or in pursuit of the legal claim; or

(iii) an entity or insurer with a preexisting contractual obligation to indemnify or defend a party to a legal claim.

(6) “Litigation financing” means:

(a) the financing, funding, advancing, or loaning of money to a legal representative or to any person who has or may pursue or assert a legal claim or who is or may become a plaintiff in conjunction with or in pursuit of a legal claim if:

(i) repayment of all or a portion of the amount financed, funded, advanced, or loaned is contingent in any respect on the outcome of a legal claim or group of legal claims;

(ii) repayment is required only if the person prevails in conjunction with or in pursuit of a legal claim; or

(iii) the money or funds for the repayment of any amount of the financing, funding, advance, or loan is derived or sourced, directly or indirectly, from the proceeds of or other consideration realized from a judgment, award, settlement, verdict, or other form of monetary relief the person or legal representative may receive or recover in conjunction with or in pursuit of a legal claim or group of legal claims; or

(b) any agreement or arrangement involving the financing, funding, advancing, or loaning of money to a legal representative if the repayment of all or a portion of the amount financed, funded, advanced, or loaned is contingent on the outcome of any single legal claim or group of legal claims in which the legal representative represents one or more consumers.

(7)(a) “Litigation financing contract” means a written contract in which a person agrees to provide litigation financing to any person in consideration for:

(i) the payment of interest, fees, or other consideration to the person providing the litigation financing; or

(ii) granting or assigning to the person providing the litigation financing a right to receive payment from the value of any proceeds or other consideration realized from any judgment, award, settlement, verdict, or other form of monetary relief any consumer, legal representative, or other person may receive or recover in relation to the legal claim.

(b) The term includes an agreement related to a litigation financing contract.

(c) The term does not include any agreement, contract, or engagement of a legal representative to render legal services to a consumer on a contingency fee basis, including the advancement of legal costs by the legal representative, in which the services or costs are provided to or on behalf of a consumer by the legal representative representing the consumer in the legal claim.

(8) “Person” means an individual or an entity.

(9) “Proprietary information” means any documents, records, or information received by a party in conjunction with or in pursuit of a legal claim that has economic or commercial value in any person's business and is:

(a) designated as proprietary information by a party to the legal claim; or

(b) subject to a court order to protect, seal, or otherwise restrict the disclosure or sharing of the documents, records, or information.

(10) “Regulated lender” has the same meaning as in 31-1-111.

(11) “Secretary” means the secretary of state provided for in Title 2, chapter 15, part 4.

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Cite this article: FindLaw.com - Montana Title 31. Credit Transactions and Relationships § 31-4-102. Definitions - last updated January 01, 2024 | https://codes.findlaw.com/mt/title-31-credit-transactions-and-relationships/mt-code-ann-sect-31-4-102/

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