A litigation funder attempting to recover its investment in an eight-year divorce case after succeeding in its intervention to take part in proceedings will not be allowed to pursue remedies.

Ruling in Lauren Belinda Simon v Paul Mark Simon, Mr Justice Peel acknowledged litigation loan provider Level as an intervener, noting the company was ‘not without potential remedies’. Level’s claim now stands at around £1.2m, including interest but excluding costs. It originally loaned £630,000 with interest accruing in the following two-year period at 19%.

Financial remedy proceedings were issued in February 2016. A final contested hearing was held in 2018 which the wife appealed, with funding from Level. However an agreement was reached following a financial dispute resolution (FDR) meeting in 2021, to which Level was not party. The settlement did not include any repayment to Level.

Level applied to join proceedings to object to the agreement. Lauren Simon attended the most recent court hearing, last month, to confirm she sought no order and wanted the proceedings to end. The judge said: ‘She was crystal clear in not wanting any further litigation which she said had destroyed her and her family.’

In a 'provisional conclusion', the judge said that the former couple entered into an agreement at FDR which included as one of its objectives an outcome to avoid repayment to Level. 'Other factors may have come into play, but it is probable, in my view, that preventing Level from recouping its monies was part of the motivation, and it was certainly one of the consequences.’

The judgment said that the court cannot make a distributive order on Level's application. If the parties elect not to pursue financial remedy proceedings, 'there is precious little that Level can do about it', the judge said. 

Choosing to make no order, as neither the husband or wife had applied for one, and bringing the proceedings to an end, the judge said financial remedies claims of both parties remain open to them. If an application is made in the future, Level will be automatically joined as an intervener.

 

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