Funder cost liability

Arkin v. Borchard Lines Ltd.

England & Wales Court of Appeal · UK · 2005 · Decided

Citation/Docket: [2005] EWCA Civ 655

Parties & Funders

Posture: Costs liability of funder after funded claim failed
Funder(s) involved: MPC (professional funder)

Background

A funded competition claim failed; the question was the funder's exposure to the winner's costs.

Holding & Outcome

Created the 'Arkin cap': a commercial funder's adverse-costs liability limited to the amount of its funding.

Practical Lesson

The cap made UK commercial funding economically viable, but it is a guideline, not a binding rule: the Court of Appeal said so directly in ChapelGate v. Money, upholding an uncapped order against a funder.

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Compiled from public sources (court filings, published opinions, and secondary reporting) as part of the Institute's Phase 1 Dispute Library research. This is educational material, not legal advice; case citations should be independently verified before relied upon.

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