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Glite Dictionary
champerty

champerty

1 9.9
An illegal agreement where someone pays for another person's lawsuit to share the money if they win
  • noun
  • /ˈʧæmpərti/
  • Formal
: champertía
  • The lawyer's champerty agreement was deemed unethical.

Examples

  • Champerty is often considered a violation of legal ethics.

  • The lawyer was disbarred after being found guilty of champerty in several cases.

  • Some jurisdictions have strict laws against champerty to prevent corrupt legal practices.

  • The court ruled that their arrangement amounted to champerty and declared it void.

  • Champerty is often considered unethical because it allows lawyers to profit from financing someone else's champerty.

  • The agreement between the investor and the plaintiff was deemed champerty since they would split the winnings of the case.

  • Many legal scholars argue that champerty undermines the integrity of the judicial system by promoting litigation for profit.

Synonyms

crooked dealing
vschamperty
1 6.3

Dishonest behavior in business or money matters

is a specific illegal agreement to finance another person's lawsuit for a share

How Illegal

collateral fraud
  • Specialized
9.8
champerty
  • Formal
1 9.9

Surface Forms

champerty singular
champerties plural

Etymology

Champerty comes from Old French words champ 'field' and part 'share', where it first meant a share of the crops from a field. Imagine someone paying to work a field and taking a 'part' of the harvest — the idea later moved to law, so champerty now means paying for someone else's lawsuit in return for a share of the money.