The NC Chamber supports House Bill 315: Gift Card Theft & Unlawful Business Entry, a bill that would ban Third-Party Litigation Investment (TPLI) in North Carolina.

TPLI is a rapidly expanding, multi-billion-dollar industry where outside investors fund lawsuits in exchange for an equity stake in the outcome.

North Carolina’s leading business climate will be damaged if its civil justice system is allowed to also act as a financial investment market, which will happen absent legislative action.

There is also a significant national security concern.

In some cases, litigation investments and funding can involve foreign capital, and courts usually do not know who is financially backing a case because the funding is hidden in confidentiality agreements. These arrangements raise legitimate concerns about access to sensitive business information and intellectual property, as well as broader national security implications.

As outlined in House Bill 315, litigation investment threatens to turn our civil justice system into a financial investment market, rather than a forum to resolve disputes on their merits and deliver justice.

This is not about limiting access to justice or changing legal rights. This changes nothing to the civil justice system we know well. It only prevents strangers to a litigation dispute investing in it for profit. It will ensure that our legal system delivers justice and does not become a financial investment market.

For the business community, this is a top priority this legislative session, and one where action is both timely and necessary to our state’s economic competitiveness.

We urge members of the North Carolina Senate to support House Bill 315 to ban TPLI in North Carolina.