N.Y. Financial Services Law § 1001: Definitions

§ 1001. Definitions. As used in this article, the following terms

shall have the following meanings:

(a) "Advertise" means publishing or disseminating any written, oral,

electronic or printed communication or any communication by means of

recorded telephone messages or transmitted or broadcast on radio,

television, the internet or similar communications media, including

audio recordings, film strips, motion pictures and videos, published,

disseminated, circulated or placed before the public, directly or

indirectly, for the purpose of inducing a consumer to enter into a

litigation funding contract.

(b) "Charges" means anything to be paid to a litigation funding

company by or on behalf of a consumer pursuant to a litigation funding

contract. Charges includes all administrative, origination,

underwriting or other fees, including interest and payment of the funded

amount, no matter how denominated.

(c) "Funding litigation" or "to fund litigation" means providing no

more than five hundred thousand dollars to a consumer in exchange for

the consumer's agreement to pay the litigation funding company from the

potential proceeds of any settlement, judgment, award or verdict that

may be paid to resolve that consumer's legal claim.

(d) "Litigation funding contract" or "contract" means an agreement

between a litigation funding company and a consumer to fund litigation.

(e) "Litigation funding company" or "company" means a person or entity

that is engaged in the business of funding litigation. This term shall

not include an immediate family member of the consumer or an attorney

representing a consumer on a contingency basis that is not a litigation

funding company on the basis of such representation.

(f) "Consumer" means a natural person who has a legal claim and who

resides or is domiciled in New York state and the claim is or will be

filed in a New York state or federal court.

(g) "Funded amount" means the amount of monies provided to, or on

behalf of, a consumer pursuant to a litigation funding contract.

(h) "Funding date" means the date on which the funded amount is

transferred to the consumer by the litigation funding company.

(i) "Immediate family member" means a parent; sibling; child by blood,

adoption, or marriage; spouse; grandparent; or grandchild.

(j) "Legal claim" means a civil claim or cause of action.