Structured Settlements and the Factoring Industry: Is There Enough Regulation in Place? Or is the Judiciary Unwilling to Step Up to the Plate and Correctly Enforce it?

Abstract

Analysis of the factoring industry shows that it is an integral industry that complements structured settlements and can provide for the immediate needs of plaintiffs, but it is also clear that regulation of the industry needs to be increased and to be more uniform across states in order to adequately protect structured settlement recipients. This paper will focus on the secondary market for structured settlements and the regulation of that market on the federal and state level. There are a number of different kinds of structured settlements and contexts in which they are utilized, but this paper will speak exclusively to structured settlements in the personal injury context rather than worker's compensation or some other situation. . . . This paper assesses whether current state and federal regulations adequately protect structured settlement recipients. Moreover, I discuss what additional steps can be taken to ensure that those individuals, those who are normally impoverished and uneducated, are protected from the predatory tactics of factoring companies. [From introductory section]