New York Court of Appeals · US (NY) · 2016 · Decided
Citation/Docket: 65 N.E.3d 1253 (N.Y. 2016)
Posture: Assignee vs. bank defendant
Funder(s) involved: Justinian Capital (claim purchaser)
Justinian acquired distressed notes for the sole purpose of suing WestLB, with no genuine obligation to pay the purchase price.
Held champertous under N.Y. Jud. Law § 489; sham purchase fell outside the statute's safe harbor.
New York's champerty statute is alive for claim acquisitions: real consideration, genuinely at risk, is what separates lawful claim purchases from champerty.
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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.