Litigation Funder Run by Harvard Dropouts Wades Into Port Spat

Legalist, a San Francisco alternative asset manager run by Harvard University dropouts, has invested money in a leaseholder’s effort to collect $124.5 million from the Port of Lake Charles in southern Louisiana.

The leaseholder, IFG Port Holdings, was on track to collect the award until an appeals opinion vacated a lower court order because a magistrate judge who ruled on the matter had a long friendship with IFG’s lawyer.

Legalist’s role in the case is disclosed in a Uniform Commercial Code filing that doesn’t divulge the amount of the investment. The company’s stake is part of a $13.5 billion litigation ...