How New York’s excessive litigation culture is crushes small business |
Starting a business takes creativity. Insurance exists to put that creativity into action. That’s what we do as cheerleaders for members of our local business community — we take a chance on dreamers. Unfortunately, New York’s lawsuit-friendly laws have spawned a cottage industry for lawyers and litigation funders, which erodes the integrity of the insurance safety net and makes it increasingly difficult for entrepreneurs to turn their dreams into reality.
New York has long been known as one of the most litigious states in the nation. Rather than simply resolve legitimate disputes, our unique state laws with expansive liability standards create opportunities for speculative lawsuits and oversized settlements.
This hostile liability climate is a contributing factor to New York’s growing affordability crisis. As household budgets shrink, our Main Street businesses see lower revenues while their own operating costs balloon. If Albany wants to tackle these issues in 2026, it should focus on fixing the drivers of excessive liability — third-party litigation funding chief among them.
Third-party litigation funding allows firms with no stake in a case to provide financing in exchange for a share of any settlement or........