Foreign Third-Party Litigation Funders; require disclosure to the Attorney General.

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To: Judiciary A
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026

By: Representative Steverson

HOUSE BILL NO. 626

AN ACT TO REQUIRE A FOREIGN THIRD-PARTY LITIGATION FUNDER TO 1
DISCLOSE CERTAIN INFORMATION TO THE ATTORNEY GENERAL; TO REQUIRE 2
SUCH DISCLOSURE IN WRITING TO THE ATTORNEY GENERAL; TO REQUIRE 3
THE DISCLOSURE NO MORE THAN 30 DAYS AFTER EXECUTION OF THE 4
AGREEMENT; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES. 5
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: 6
SECTION 1. (1) The following words and phrases shall have 7
the meanings defined in this section, as follows: 8
(a) "Foreign entity of concern" means a partnership, 9
association, corporation, organization, or other combination of 10
persons: 11
(i) Organized or incorporated in a foreign country 12
of concern; 13
(ii) Owned or controlled by the government, a 14
political subdivision, or a political party of a foreign country 15
of concern; 16
(iii) That has a principal place of business in a 17
foreign country of concern; or 18
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(iv) That is owned, organized, or controlled by or 19
affiliated with a foreign organization that has been: 20
1. Placed on the federal Office of Foreign 21
Assets Control specially designated nationals and blocked persons 22
list; or 23
2. Designated by the United States Secretary 24
of State as a foreign terrorist organization. 25
(b) "Foreign person" means: 26
(i) An individual who is not a citizen of the 27
United State or an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence 28
in the United States; 29
(ii) An unincorporated association, of which a 30
majority of members are not citizens of the United States or 31
aliens lawfully admitted for permanent residence in the United 32
States; or 33
(iii) A corporation that is not incorporated in 34
the United States. 35
(c) "Foreign third-party litigation funder" means a 36
foreign person, foreign state, or foreign sovereign wealth fund 37
other than the named parties, counsel of record, or law firm of 38
record, that is a third-party litigation funder. 39
(d) "Litigation expenses" means costs typically 40
incurred in the course of civil litigation, including, but not 41
limited to, filing fees, expert witness fees, transcript fees, 42
court costs, travel expenses, and office overhead, but not 43
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including funds intended for use by a party for personal or 44
familial expenses, such as food, rent, mortgage payments, car 45
payments, and medical bills. 46
(e) "Third-party litigation funder" means any person or 47
entity that provides funding intended to defray litigation 48
expenses or the financial impact of a negative judgment related to 49
a civil action and has the contractual right to receive or make 50
any payment that is contingent on the outcome of an identified 51
civil action by settlement, judgement, or otherwise, or on the 52
outcome of any matter within a portfolio that includes the action 53
and involves the same counsel or affiliated counsel. This term 54
does not apply to: (i) The named parties, counsel of record, or 55
law firm of record providing funding intended to defray litigation 56
expenses related to the civil action, (ii) A person or entity 57
providing funding solely intended to pay costs of living or other 58
personal or familial expenses during the pendency of such civil 59
action where such funds are not used to defray litigation 60
expenses, (iii) Counsel of record, or law firm of record, or any 61
referring counsel providing legal services on a contingency fee 62
basis or to advance his or her client's legal costs where the 63
services or costs are provided by counsel of record or law firm of 64
record in accordance with the Rules of Professional Conduct, (iv) 65
A health insurer, medical provider, or assignee that has paid, is 66
obligated to pay, or is owed any sums for health care for an 67
injured person under the terms of a health insurance plan or other 68
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agreement, (v) A financial institution providing loans made 69
directly to a party, counsel of record, or a law firm of record 70
when repayment of the loan is not contingent upon the outcome of 71
such civil action or on the outcome of any matter within a 72
portfolio that includes such civil action and involves the same 73
counsel or affiliated counsel, (vi) Any person or entity providing 74
funding to a nonprofit legal organization that represents clients 75
on a pro bono, no-cost basis, if the nonprofit legal organization 76
seeks only injunctive or declaratory relief on behalf of its 77
clients. This part does not affect the award of costs or 78
attorney's fees to a nonprofit legal organization in the pro bono, 79
no-cost pursuit of injunctive relief. 80
(2) In any civil action in which a foreign third-party 81
litigation funder provides funds intended to defray litigation 82
expenses or the financial impact of a negative judgment and the 83
source or sources of its funding includes a foreign entity, the 84
third-party litigation funder shall meet all of the following 85
requirements: 86
(a) Disclose in writing to the Attorney General the 87
name, the address, and citizenship or the country of incorporation 88
or registration of any foreign entity that has a right to receive 89
or an obligation to make any payment that is contingent on the 90
outcome of the civil action, or portfolio that includes the civil 91
action and involves the same counsel of record or affiliated 92
counsel, by settlement, judgment, or otherwise. 93
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ST: Foreign Third-Party Litigation Funders;
require disclosure to the Attorney General.
(b) Disclose in writing to the Attorney General the 94
name, address, the citizenship or the country of incorporation or 95
registration of any foreign entity that has received or is 96
entitled to receive proprietary information or information 97
affecting national security interests obtained as a result of the 98
funding agreement for such civil action. 99
This disclosure does not pertain to information received by a 100
party to the action, counsel of record, or law firm of record. 101
(c) Produce to the Attorney General a copy of any 102
agreement creating a contingent right described in this section. 103
(3) The disclosure and certification required by this 104
section shall be made no later than thirty (30) days after 105
execution of any agreement or the date on which the civil action 106
is filed. 107
(4) A party who enters into an agreement described in this 108
section after the date on which the civil action is filed shall 109
make the disclosure required by this section no later than thirty 110
(30) days after being served. 111
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from 112
and after July 1, 2026. 113