LAWSUIT LENDING: A coalition of business organizations and left-leaning advocacy groups want state officials to address the lawsuit lending industry in New York

LAWSUIT LENDING: A coalition of business organizations and left-leaning advocacy groups want state officials to address the lawsuit lending industry in New York.

The groups — which include a collection of unusual bedfellows like The Business Council of New York and the left-leaning Alliance for Quality Education — pressed the attorney general in a letter this month to take on the lawsuit lending sector.

“You have been assiduous in cracking down on predatory lenders who unlawfully take advantage of unsuspecting individuals and small businesses,” the groups wrote to James in the letter obtained by Playbook. “Now, these same groups are being systematically targeted by the equally insidious lawsuit lending industry.”

Lawsuit lending provides cash advances against future legal settlements to cover expenses like medical bills.

Business groups have argued the practice drives up insurance rates; community organizations worry the industry takes advantage of low-income people of color.

Efforts to address lawsuit lending have been going on for the last several years in Albany. The industry uses high-interest rate loans that opponents contend take advantage of what amount to loopholes in the current lending regulations meant to protect consumers. — Nick Reisman