About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

9 S. Cal. Interdisc. L. J. 465 (1999-2000)
Structured Settlements: The Assignability Problem

handle is hein.journals/scid9 and id is 471 raw text is: NOTES STRUCTURED SETTLEMENTS: THE ASSIGNABILITY PROBLEM LEO ANDRADA* INTRODUCTION In designing a personal injury settlement agreement, there are compelling reasons to avoid compensating the plaintiff with a single lump sum cash award. One of the most important reasons is that plaintiffs are often unable or unwilling to effectively manage a large lump sum award. Statistics show that twenty-five to thirty percent of all cash judgment or settlement awards are exhausted within two months, and ninety percent are exhausted within five years.' Prematurely exhausting a settlement award can be particularly troublesome if the plaintiff is relying on the award for future medical or living expenses. The structured settlement is the simplest and most common way to prevent plaintiffs from prematurely exhausting a large settlement award. In the typical structured settlement agreement, the defendant pays a structured settlement company a lump sum amount, and in exchange, the structured settlement company provides the plaintiff with payments over time. The timing and amount of these payments can be designed to meet the plaintiff's future needs. For example, payments can be designed to simulate lost wages or to coincide with anticipated future medical expenses. However, in recent years, the continued effectiveness of structured settlements has been threatened by a growing number of companies that purchase structured settlements from personal injury victims. These companies, sometimes known as factoring companies or structured settlement purchasers, give the victim immediate cash for the right to future payments from structured settlements. These transactions, sometimes known as factoring transactions, raise a number of legal and policy issues. For example, from a policy standpoint, . J.D. candidate, University of Southern California Law School, 2000. B.A., New York University, 1996. The author wishes to thank Professor Gregory C. Keating for his assistance in writing this Note. ' See FLAVAHAN ET AL., CALIFORNIA PRACrlCE GUIDE: PERSONAL INJURY 4-140.1 (1998). This figure includes awards received either through settlement or by judgment.

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most