ATLANTA, Ga.—October 22, 2018—The Georgia Supreme Court has affirmed the earlier judgment of the Georgia Court of Appeals that neither the PayDay Lending Act nor the Georgia Industrial Loan Act apply to legal funding transactions. This important decision will continue to allow Cherokee Funding, the appellant in the case, and others to provide non-recourse cash advances to plaintiffs.

“This is an important decision in the legal funding space in the state of Georgia,” said Reid Zeising, Cherokee Funding CEO. “It continues to allow Cherokee and other funding companies to offer non-recourse cash advances to plaintiffs while awaiting trial or settlement. It is an important confirmation and necessary in order to allow disadvantaged plaintiffs equal access to our legal system. It allows plaintiffs and attorneys to pursue cases based on their merits, not on whether or not plaintiffs can sustain themselves throughout litigation.”

The American Legal Finance Association (ALFA), which represents leading consumer legal funding companies across the country and promotes fair, ethical, and transparent funding standards in the industry, released the following statement.

“The American Legal Finance Association (ALFA) applauds the Georgia Supreme Court’s decision today recognizing the fundamental differences between pre-settlement advances and loans. As detailed in our amicus brief for this case, the consumer legal funding industry needs appropriate standards and regulation — such as those we supported in Oklahoma, Indiana, Tennessee, and Vermont — to protect consumers and preserve access to this important resource. ALFA will continue to advocate for these high standards so that victims can pursue justice, no matter the cost,” said Kelly Gilroy, Executive Director of the American Legal Finance Association.

The ALFA statement went on to highlight:

Access to consumer legal funding helps level the playing field for victims pursuing justice through the courts. A pre-settlement advance offers immediate financial relief to victims for use on non-legal expenses—including groceries, medical bills, student loans, and rent. For victims facing powerful defendants with the ability to slow-walk a case, legal funding helps relieve financial pressure and prevent the premature abandonment of the case.

The case, Ruth et al. v. Cherokee Funding, LLC et al., was originally filed in 2016.

About Cherokee Funding:

Headquartered in Atlanta, Ga., Cherokee Funding is a full-service direct legal and medical funding company.

Cherokee was founded in 2010 to enable the best outcome for plaintiffs and attorneys by providing them with the legal and medical funding to await fair settlement.

With over 200 years of combined industry experience, the team at Cherokee Funding is committed to providing world-class customer support in their delivery of legal and medical funding services to plaintiffs. Cherokee Funding is home to Same Day Cash Advances™.

For more information, please go to www.cherokeefunding.com.

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Media Contact:

Hanna Wilson

hwilson@cherokeefunding.com

855-394-2274