COURT CASE MAKES CLEAR, DEFENSE STRUCTURED SETTLEMENT BROKERS HAVE NO FIDUCIARY RESPONSIBILITY TO PLAINTIFFS. SO WHY WOULD ANY TRIAL LAWYER USE A DEFENSE BROKER NOW?

In this weeks video commentary Mark takes a deeper look at the issues being revealed in last weeks decision in USDC of Oregon. A decision in which defense brokers argued, and the court agreed, that no fiduciary relationship exists between a defense structured settlement broker and the injured plaintiff who relies upon their advice regarding the selection of the life company that funds their injury settlement. Knowing this is the position of the brokers and courts, why then would any trial lawyer settle a case using a structured settlement where they did not engage a plaintiff broker who would have a clear fiduciary responsibility to the injured party? Have trial lawyers been so seduced by years of financial contributions to trial lawyer associations from defense structured settlement firms, or has it just become routine to deal with one broker and for them to not bother with engaging their own expert?

Structured settlement guru Mark Wahlstrom discusses the failure and liquidation of Executive Life Insurance Company of New York (ELNY) and the class action suit that arose out of it, Westrope v. Ringler Associates Inc.. The Westrope case underlines the reality that the brokers for the defense interests in a structured settlement negotiation do not represent the interests of plaintiffs. The structured settlement industry should take the lead in providing useful factual information to people involved in these transactions. You can learn more about http://thesettlementchannel.com and http://wahlstromandassociates.com by clicking on the links and subscribing to Mark Wahlstrom's weekly video and written commentary on structured settlements, mass torts, settlement administration and litigation.

I also discuss the increasing outside scrutiny of the process by which political figures in New York decided to liquidate ELNY and why that process is still shrouded in secrecy two years after it occurred. I believe it is time for trial lawyers to stop passively taking at face value the defense industry narrative on how structured settlements are used, sold and funded when it comes to assisting your injured clients. Trial lawyer have for years now the right to engage their own structured settlement experts, to create Qualified Settlement Funds and control the process by which the financial settlement decisions are made for you and your clients. The question we will look into early in 2015 is why aren't they doing it?

This commentary originally was posted on The Settlement Channel and is authored by Mark Wahlstrom