2023 Montana Code Annotated › Title 31. Credit Transactions and Relationships › Chapter 4. Litigation Financing › Part 1. Litigation Financing Transparency andConsumer Protection Act › 31-4-103. Registration

31-4-103. (Effective January 1, 2024) Registration.
(1) A person may not engage in litigation financing in this state unless the person is registered with the secretary of state as a litigation financer pursuant to this part.
(2) If the person registering as a litigation financer is an entity:
(a) the entity must be active and in good standing as reflected in the office of the secretary of state; and
(b) the entity's articles of incorporation, charter, articles of organization, certificate of limited partnership, or other organizational or governing document must contain a statement that the entity has the power to engage in the business of litigation financing and is designated as a litigation financer pursuant to this part.
(3) To register as a litigation financer, a person shall file a registration statement with the secretary of state setting forth the following information:
(a) the legal name of the litigation financer;
(b) the physical street address and mailing address of the litigation financer;
(c) a telephone number or e-mail address through which the litigation financer may be contacted;
(d) the physical street address and mailing address of the licensed financer's registered office and the name of the registered agent at the registered office who is authorized to accept service of process on behalf of the licensed financer; and
(e) any other information the secretary of state considers necessary.
(4) If the person seeking to register as a litigation financer is an entity, the following information must be set forth in the registration statement with respect to each person that, directly or indirectly, owns, controls, holds with the power to vote, or holds proxies representing 5% or more of the voting securities of the litigation financer:
(a) the legal name, physical street address, and mailing address of each person;
(b) if the person is an individual:
(i) the individual's occupation;
(ii) any offices and positions held with the litigation financer during the past 5 years; and
(iii) any conviction of a crime other than misdemeanor traffic violations during the past 10 years;
(c) if the person is an entity:
(i) the nature of the entity's business operations, if any, during the past 5 years or a description of the business intended to be done by the entity and the entity's subsidiaries, if any; and
(ii) a list of all individuals who are or who have been selected to become directors or officers of the entity and each subsidiary of the entity. The list must include for each individual the information required by subsection (2).
(5) A litigation financer subject to registration under this part shall file an amended registration within 30 days whenever the information contained in the most recently filed registration changes or becomes inaccurate or incomplete in any respect.
(6) The secretary of state is authorized to prescribe the forms and the filing fees the secretary of state considers necessary for the purposes of this part.
(7) All documents and information filed with the secretary of state pursuant to this section are public records.
(8) The secretary of state's duty to file documents under this section is ministerial. The secretary of state's filing or refusing to file a document does not create a presumption that:
(a) the document does or does not conform to the requirements of this chapter; or
(b) the information contained in the document is correct or incorrect.
History: En. Sec. 3, Ch. 360, L. 2023.