by Structured Settlement Watchdog®
Maryland's Standing Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure approved structured settlement protection reforms, in October, subject to final approval by the Maryland Court of Appeals. The Maryland Court of Appeals has now approved the structured settlement factoring reforms much to the chagrin of leadership in the structured settlement secondary market who branded the Court's action "terrible". This is the latest "butterball" delivered to purchasers of structured settlement payments, who were given similar Thanksgiving stuffing by the Illinois Supreme Court in 2013.
Highlights of the approved Maryland structured settlement protection reforms
- All structured settlement transfer petitions to be filed in the residing jurisdiction of the payees,
- Payees now must attend court hearings to help the judge decide whether the proposed deal is in their best interest.
- Companies must now say whether the underlying case involved any claim of lead paint poisoning or “mental or cognitive impairment.”
- Independent professional advisers — who counsel payees about the (structured settlement payments for cash) deals’ implications — must now appear at the hearings, divulge how frequently they’ve done business with the settlement purchasing companies and detail their investigation into the seller’s mental capacity.
One could say that the Maryland Court of Appeals has drunk from "Elijah's Cup" and smacked "Der Kopf" of settlement purchasers.