Illinois § 10

§ 10.

Contract requirements; right of rescission. (a) All consumer legal fundings shall meet the following requirements: (1) the contract shall be completely filled in when presented to the consumer for signature with all blanks marked "not applicable", "n/a", or "none"; (2) the contract shall contain, in bold and boxed type, a right of rescission, allowing the consumer to cancel the contract without penalty or further obligation if, within 14 business days after the funding date, the consumer either: (A) returns to the consumer legal funding company the full amount of the disbursed funds by delivering the company's uncashed check to the company's office in person; or (B) mails, by insured, certified, or registered United States mail, to the address specified in the contract, a notice of cancellation and includes in the mailing a return of the full amount of disbursed funds in the form of the company's uncashed check or a registered or certified check or money order; and (3) the contract shall contain the initials of the consumer on each page. (b) The contract shall contain a written acknowledgment by the attorney retained by the consumer in the legal claim that attests to the following: (1) to the best of the attorney's knowledge, all the costs and charges relating to the consumer legal funding have been disclosed to the consumer; (2) the attorney is being paid on a contingency basis pursuant to a written fee agreement; (3) all proceeds of the legal claim will be disbursed via either the trust account of the attorney or a settlement fund established to receive the proceeds of the legal claim on behalf of the consumer; (4) the attorney is following the written instructions of the consumer with regard to the consumer legal funding; and (5) the attorney has not received a referral fee or other consideration from the consumer legal funding company in connection with the consumer legal funding, nor will the attorney receive such fee or other consideration in the future. (c) If the acknowledgment required in subsection (b) is not completed by the attorney retained by the consumer in the legal claim, the contract shall be null and void. The contract remains valid and enforceable if the consumer terminates representation by the initial attorney who completed the acknowledgment required in subsection (b) or retains a new attorney with respect to the legal claim. (d) No licensee shall permit an obligor to owe the licensee, an agent of the licensee, or an affiliate of the licensee, including a corporation owned or managed by the licensee, an aggregate principal amount in excess of $100,000, unless permitted by rule, at any time for consumer legal fundings transacted pursuant to this Act. (e) Any transaction that does not exactly meet the definition of a consumer legal funding under Section 5 is subject to the Interest Act and any other applicable law. (Source: P.A. 102-987, eff. 5-27-22.)