Susman Godfrey Funding Deal for Patent Cases Revealed in Lawsuit

A new lawsuit by a patent monetization firm affiliate against litigation funder Longford Captial reveals key terms and conditions in the funder’s relationship with elite boutique law firm Susman Godfrey.

Arigna Technology Limited filed suit in U.S. District Court, District of Delaware last week under seal against Longford Capital, which provided more than $23 million toward its portfolio of patent suits. The complaint included exhibits revealing details of the arrangement between the funder and Susman Godfrey. It included agreements for funding to enforce patents in the International Trade Commission, U.S. district courts, and Germany. Litigation finance agreements are confidential, and often heavily redacted in court filings.

The agreement shows that Longford committed $23,595,500 and would pay Susman monthly fees up to $6,915,000 to prosecute district court actions up to a first trial. The agreement includes separate monthly caps for non-contingent fees ranging from $1.3 million to $3.6 million.

Arigna filed the complaint under seal to “protect commercially sensitive information” between Susman Godfrey and Longford.

Arigna Technology Limited is a plaintiff associated with Dublin-based patent monetization firm Atlantic IP Services Ltd. It has been represented by Susman since February 2021 in 12 suits in the Eastern and Western Districts of Texas against Nissan, Samsung, Honda, Google and Apple, among others. One asserted patent describes a semiconductor device that Arigna alleges was infringed upon by Samsung, Apple and others in the company’s smart phone and computer products.

Longford declined to comment. Atlantic IP and one of the lead attorneys for Arigna at Susman did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

With assistance from Michael Shapiro

The case is Arigna Technology Limited v. Longford Capital Fund, D. Del., The case is: 23-cv-01441-GBW, 12/18/23