Apparently DealFlow Media's Alex Horvath doesn't watch Animal Planet.
In a March 6, 2008 story posted on its Structured Settlements Wire, DealFlow Media mischaracterized a panel featuring 3 "experts" at the Society of Settlement Planners Meeting as a fete of sorts… "SSP hosted NASP" (The National Association of Settlement Purchasers).
The experts were reported as Earl Nesbitt (a partner with Nesbitt, Vasar, McCown & Roden, LLP, Executive Director and counsel to NASP). Rhonda Bentzen, (a factoring broker with Bentzen Funding Solutions and Steve Harris, an attorney with the Drinker Biddle law firm, who represents life insurers' interests in structured settlement factoring transactions. It is not believed that the latter two panelists are members of NASP. There seems to be some confusion** by Horvath between "the 800lb gorilla
" that Professor Joseph W. Tombs called "the dissipation of structured settlement assets" and by deduction, Nesbitt. Let's get this straight. Factoring companies have been variously referred to as "hyenas"
,
"vultures" (by a sitting judge), "the turd in the middle of the room", "blood suckers", but NOT gorillas.
DealFlow Media goes on to report that "the seminar featured a tone of peaceful coexistence and the need for communication and education in the primary and secondary markets, some in the room had their reservations, instructing Nesbitt to tell the NASP members that he represents to immediately "cease and desist" using the term "structured settlements in their advertising.” Nesbitt said that he would carry the message, but that not all of the companies that were doing so were in his organization, and that many of the companies that were didn't always listen to him. He added that he would be inviting some of the same structured settlement consultants in the room to NASP's annual conference in Las Vegas in October where they could express their viewpoint in person".
As quoted by DealFlow, Nesbitt clearly admitted that he may not be able to influence NASP members behavior. The strategy of having "someone else's Daddy" (Nesbitt) ask the bad apples in NASP to "cease and desist" presumes however, that there is leverage to be had over "the teenagers". As someone who has been fighting the battle for over 2 years, in my opinion the leverage comes from:
(1) continuing to educate consumers, attorneys and judges and attorneys general about the abuses and how to identify them through a multi media approach. Panel leader Patrick Hindert's focus has been on letting people know they have the right to sell as opposed to educating people up front about the potential abuse that they may be subject to and how to deal with it when it arises.
(2) requiring professional licensure. Such licensure is already required for life settlements and JG Wentworth has already boasted its obtaining life settlement licenses in 22 states. Those states that have adopted licensure for life settlements have the enforcement mechanism in place and, given the many cross overs in companies and concept, could easily segue into regulation of structured settlement factoring companies and factoring brokers.
(3) establish state or federal regulations embodied with stiff advertising standards that are on par with levels now associated with soliciting seniors.
(4)continuing to highlight and encourage consumer friendly developments like factoring exchanges which squeeze the bloated excess of companies, like JG Wentworth (NASP's largest member) and Peachtree Settlement Funding (NASP's second largest member) and bring effective discount rates well below 10%, without having to play games. It's high time that certain factoring companies got their investors' expectations in line with reality.
(5) banning an alleged practice that forces an annuitant to an arbitration, or a non court approved sale with an IRC 5891 imposed 40% excise tax, IF the court doesn't approve the structured settlement factoring transaction
(6) appropriately rewarding referrals to only those companies that exhibit good market behavior, good ethics, competitiveness and PUBLIC support of our efforts.
** as previously reported DealFlow Media has mischaracterized certain factoring companies as life companies
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