Illinois Structured Settlement Protection Act – revised

Revisions to the Illinois Structured Settlement Protection Act, 5 ILCS 153/1 went into effect last month in the wake of Settlement Funding, LLC v. Brenston, 998 N.E. 2d 111 (Ill. App. Ct. 2013) where the Illinois Appellate Court held that the trial court erred in permitting a transfer where the settlement agreement contained an anti-assignment clause and the factoring company failed to disclose this to the court. Among the changes to the Illinois Structured Settlement Protection Act are provisions permitting an “interested party” to waive these assignment prohibitions. The revisions to the Illinois Structured Settlement Protection Act also include provisions designed to address “forum shopping” inside the state by requiring that transfer petitions be filed in the county where the payee lives.