Blue Cross Suit Lawyers Must Reveal Outside Funders, Judge Says

Class members opting out of a $2.8 billion antitrust settlement with Blue Cross Blue Shield have to disclose whether their decisions were motivated by litigation funders, a federal judge said Tuesday.

Four law firms representing the class members who opted out—Paul Hastings, K&L Gates, McKool Smith, and Bartko Pavia—must state in writing whether their clients received funding from outside investors, Alabama federal judge R. David Proctor said Tuesday. The firms represent most of the more than 15,000 requests to be excluded from the settlement, which was the largest ever deal in a healthcare antitrust case.

One or more funders backing ...