by Structured Settlement Watchdog
Lynne M Kizis, President of the New Jersey Association for Justice has written an endorsement of Canadian structured settlement factoring company Strategic Capital in which the amount of the $3,000.00 financial contribution to NJAJ plays a prominent role. A Business Partner of the New Jersey Association which pays $3,000.00 annually is considered a Copper Partner and each and every member of NJAJ is made aware of business partners’ financial contributions.
Strategic Capital is one of the many companies in the structured settlement secondary market whose value proposition is to pay pennies on the dollar in
exchange for the hard earned future periodic payments that New Jersey trial lawyers have fought for their clients to receive. The Lynn Kizis letter is a disgrace and embarrassment, in my opinion, and appears to demonstrate that the New Jersey Association for Justice is more concerned about getting a few thousand dollars in the door from a company in an unregulated industry that has no licensing standard or meaningful regulation of sales practices that have proven harmful to consumers all across the country.
Is Taking Financial Inducements for Endorsements of Structured Settlement Factoring Companies Consistent with the Mission of NJAJ?
- Should members of NJAJ be aware of national news stories that have appeared in the Washington Post about annuitants and investors in structured settlement payments rights who have been screwed?
- NJAJ says in its advertising that it is dedicated to preserving justice for all and protecting people’s rights by working to strengthen the laws for safer products and workplaces, a cleaner environment and quality health care.
- A Pennsylvania retired couple invested just under $153,000 of retirement money with a New Jersey company in a factored structured settlement payment stream and lost it all because of a fraud in the origination of the deal for which the New Jersey company was brokering. Yes lost it all. The New Jersey company inaccurately marketed the investment as an annuity and it was clear that transactional risk was never discussed in the marketing hype. [ see Deposed Parties in Wall v Altium Group LLC Misrepresented the Nature of What Retirees Were Buying Multiple Times]
- Then there was a case in March 2019 where the Superior Court in Morris County overturned a transfer where a 20 year old NJ resident was solicited by a Philadelphia factoring company and induced to sign papers to transfer payments for someone who was the midst of what was described as a “full blown psychotic episode” and was hospitalized. See CBC Settlement Funding and Mental Health Issues – Structured Settlements 4Real®Blog April 19, 2019
Bad Optics for a Trial Lawyer Association
The Consumer Attorneys of California recently issued a similar endorsement letter which will be covered in a separate post.
What NJAJ should consider doing is advocating for Mandatory Independent Professional Advice prior to structured settlement transfers in New Jersey, to protect the people NJAJ members serve