A clear line of case law is emerging that holds litigation funding agreements are generally not subject to state usury restrictions, but a pair of high-profile cases—one that arose out of the $1 billion NFL concussion settlement and the other linked to a fund for 9/11 victims—may complicate matters.

Late last year, U.S. District Judge Anita Brody of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, who is overseeing the concussion litigation, barred third-party litigation funders from entering into assignment agreements with plaintiffs in the class action, and ordered the claims administrator of the $1 billion settlement to pay the ex-players directly.