Things have gone from bad to worse for tiny Excalibur Ventures, and for the litigation funders that backed its failed $1.65 billion lawsuit against a group of U.S. oil companies.
On Friday a judge in London ruled that Excalibur must pay an additional £5.5 million ($9 million) in security to cover the legal costs of defendants Gulf Keystone Petroleum Ltd. and Texas Keystone Inc. under Britain’s “loser pays” rule, according to the defendants’ lawyers. The judge on Friday also ordered the release of £17.5 million ($27 million) that Excalibur had previously posted as security for the defendants’ legal costs, and he ruled that the defendants can go after Excalibur’s third-party litigation funders if the company doesn’t pay up. In total, Excalibur has been ordered to put up $36 million to cover its opponents’ legal costs.
