The law of torts refers to a vast province of private law encompassing various personal causes of action or civil wrongs such as assault, battery, interference with contractual rights, malicious prosecution, negligence, malicious prosecution, defamation, nuisances, and so forth. The common thread running through all causes of actions is an allegation of desecration of primary rights. Primary rights belong to everyone, and when interfered with or wronged in any manner a remedy lays in the law of torts. However, a borderline delineates harm-grounded torts from intentional (trespassory) torts due to doctrinal discrepancies between the two domains of liability. Trespass imposes strict liability and can be done devoid of inflicting harm while negligence involves evidence of carelessness and abides by the “no injury, no foul” theory. But one can argue the law of torts focuses on the remedying wrongs and all branches of liability hang together in emphasizing rights and attendant duties, only torn apart by the principles of harm, loss and compensatory damages.

Benjamin Schultz picked a mislabeled poison whose sticker had been replaced with that of a harmless herb from a departmental store and later developed respiratory complications. The court found the store owed him a duty of care due to the nature of the items. In a resolution of the lawsuit before the end of the trial, the defendants agreed to pay him compensation money via a structured settlement. Like lottery winnings, a structured settlement disburses funds to a tort victim in a pre-determined schedule. The payment rights vested in Schultz generate hard cash in factoring transactions where he can sell a segment or the whole income stream.

Sell Structured Settlement

Hunt For The Highest Lump Sum Payment-Courts Slam Transactions with Overly Steep Discounts

Schultz took the time to shop around for price offers from a bevy of structured settlement purchasing companies. Each company had a different lump sum payment proposal and discount rates. He leaped at the offer given by Fairfield Funding. He also printed out free quotes conveyed by rival companies and attached them to the court petition to prove he took the time to shop around.

Texas Structured Settlement Payments Selling Procedure

Fairfield Funding submitted an application in court seeking approval of his transaction in Dallas County, Texas. The judge reviewed the disclosure statement, transfer agreement and relevant documents to ensure he did not sacrifice his rights to the future income stream in return for a paltry discounted lump sum. However, the judge did not weigh the competing price offers to determine for him the best choice.

How Did He Calculate the Discounted Present Value of the Payment Rights Assigned?

To know the value of the two annuities he was selling, Schultz used the active federal discount rate as published by the IRS. The two payments totaled $60,000 in future value, using the 4.4% discount rate, the discounted present value is $43,309. The court scrutinizes the discount rate employed to calculate the gross lump sum payment and deductible fees to ensure he has a fair and reasonable transaction. The disclosure statement showed the lump sum payable represented 74.3% of the discounted current value of his two annuities. The court had no quarrel with the figures.

What is the Intersection Between the “Best Interest” Test and the “Fair and Reasonable” Standard?

The Texas SSPA mandates the court to find that the transaction is in the “best interest” of the seller. In determining the threshold, courts assess the financial emergencies, the more pressing; the more justifiable it may be for the seller to retrieve immediate cash at a steeper discount rate. Structured settlement funding companies will be allowed to take over rights due to extreme hardship, unprecedented change of circumstances or exigencies.

Best of the Bunch: Our Top 3 Picks Amongst Structured Settlement Re-Purchasing Companies

JG Wentworth has the longest experience in the industry; it bristles with a vast constellation of structured settlement novation experts. They will dispatch a personal representative to court after you sign the transfer agreement and persuade the judge to affirm the transaction.

Peachtree Financial Solutions responds to your quote request with an actual offer, as a seasoned buyer of annuities, structured settlements and lottery winnings, the company doles out cash advances to sellers at a tight spot.

Fairfield Funding has a team of specialist attorneys and novation experts at the ready to comply with the legal process in your state to help you cash in your future stream of income today. They provide a broad range of financial solutions online.…