CHAMPERTY AND MAINTENANCE
Champerty is the process whereby one person bar-
gains with a party to a lawsuit to obtain a share in
the proceeds of the suit. Maintenance is the sup-
port or promotion of another person’s suit initi-
ated by intermeddling for personal gain.
Both champerty and maintenance have been
illegal for two basic public policy reasons since
early COMMON LAW: (1) It is considered desir-
able to curb excess litigation for the operation of
an efficient judicial system. The reasons for this
are numerous and include problems of over-
crowding on court calendars, economic consid-
erations, and the desirability of promoting a
society that is not excessively litigious. Cham-
perty and maintenance work contrary to this
societal goal by stirring up litigation. (2) Cham-
perty and maintenance bring money to an indi-
vidual who was not personally harmed by the
defendant. An attorney found guilty of either
champerty or maintenance will be subject to the
payment of any damages that may have been
incurred by the parties to the lawsuit and to dis-
ciplinary proceedings, which can result in his or
her disbarment.
Whether or not champerty and maintenance
exist in a particular instance depends upon the
facts and circumstances of the case. They apply
specifically to cases wherein one person profits
from another person’s recovery in a lawsuit. If a
licensed collection agency purchases a group of
bad accounts from a store, the agency is buying
the right to collect on the accounts rather than
on a particular lawsuit and is therefore not
guilty of champerty. An attorney who buys a
chose in action with the sole, SPECIFIC INTENT
to initiate an action for his or her own benefit
would be guilty of champerty provided the pur-
chase was made with that intent.
To lend money to an individual who would
not otherwise be able to afford to bring a lawsuit
is not maintenance unless the lender intends to
gain substantially from his loan by being com-
pensated with a portion of the recovery.
Today, some states still recognize champerty
and maintenance as offenses but in most states
they have been replaced with the civil actions of
ABUSE OF PROCESS and MALICIOUS PROSECU-
TION, both of which deal with the wrongful ini-
tiation of litigation and perversion of legal process.
