Here is the translated report:

Hot Legal Topics — Tuesday

Period: Last 4 days (Fri–Mon)

New Legislation / EU Directives

• Disclosure Requirements for Litigation Funders in the United States: The regulation of litigation funding continues to advance. In the state of New Jersey, a new bill has been pushed forward that would mandate the disclosure of agreements with third-party litigation funders [1]. Such regulations could significantly influence the dynamics and structuring of future class actions.

BGH / Landmark Judgments

• Platform Liability (LG Frankfurt): The Frankfurt Regional Court has imposed a fine of €100,000 on Meta, the parent company of Facebook [2, 3]. The court based its decision on the finding that false allegations published online were removed too slowly [3]. The ruling carries significant precedential weight for the liability of platform operators and provides grounds for mass litigation against tech giants over inadequate content moderation processes.
• Mass Damages Claims Against Banks (LG Essen): Following a break-in at a savings bank in Gelsenkirchen resulting in losses of several million euros, the first civil proceedings have commenced [4]. Numerous affected customers are pursuing damages claims, demonstrating considerable potential for consolidating similar cases involving inadequate security measures at financial institutions [4].
• Billion-Dollar Settlement in Catastrophe Liability Case: A US federal judge has approved a $100 million settlement in shareholder litigation against Hawaiian Electric [5]. The plaintiffs alleged that the utility's executives had failed to implement adequate wildfire prevention measures in the lead-up to the devastating Maui wildfires of 2023 [5].
• Consolidations in the Medical Device Sector (MDL): Mass litigation in the pharmaceutical and medical device sector in the United States continues to gain momentum. Claims against Boston Scientific relating to defective spinal cord stimulators have been centralized in a nationwide Multidistrict Litigation (MDL) proceeding [6]. Concurrently, a $50 million settlement is imminent in the Gardasil HPV vaccine litigation, which is expected to resolve nearly all pending claims alleging neurological side effects [7].

Trends in Litigation Funding & Legal Tech

• European Cartel Class Actions Backed by Litigation Funders: A consortium of more than 20 European publishers, supported by litigation funder LitFin, is pursuing approximately €640 million in damages against Google [8]. The claims are based on alleged abuses in Google's ad tech business [8]. This case underscores the growing significance of litigation funding in the enforcement of large-scale cartel damages claims across Europe.
• Market Consolidation: The litigation funding market is undergoing increasing professionalization. Rocade Capital has acquired Law Finance Group, creating a substantial platform with more than $2.3 billion in deployed capital [9]. According to the CEO, this transaction is a clear indication that, in a maturing market, the focus is increasingly on "picking the winners" [9].
• Risks for Funders and Investors: An Australian court has ruled that litigation funders must bear the opposing party's legal costs following the dismissal of a billion-dollar claim they had financed [10]. Disputes over payout ratios are also generating conflict: the inventor of Vodacom's "Please Call Me" service is taking legal action against his former litigation funders, who are claiming 40% of the settlement proceeds obtained [10].
• Legal Tech / AI Liability: The US state of Florida has filed a lawsuit against OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman [11]. The complaint alleges that ChatGPT was falsely marketed as safe, despite the AI's potential to promote violence and pose risks to children [11]. This development may signal the beginning of a new wave of consumer and mass tort litigation against providers of generative AI.