Judge: Lynne M. Hobbs, Case: 24STCP03272, Date: 2024-12-05 Tentative Ruling

Case Number: 24STCP03272    Hearing Date: December 5, 2024    Dept: 61

J.G. WENTWORTH ORIGINATIONS, LLC vs FREDRICK SANDERS, JR.

TENTATIVE

J.G. Wentworth Originations, LLC’s Petition to Approve Transfer of Payment Rights is DENIED without prejudice.

DISCUSSION

Insurance Code section 10136 states:

(a) No direct or indirect transfer of structured settlement payment rights by a payee to which this article applies shall be effective, and no structured settlement obligor or annuity issuer shall be required to make any payment directly or indirectly to a transferee, unless all of the provisions of this section are satisfied.

(b) Ten or more days before the payee executes a transfer agreement, the transferee shall provide the payee with a separate written disclosure statement, accurately completed with the information that applies to the transfer agreement, in substantially the following form . . . .

In order for a court to approve such transfer, certain statutory provisions as set forth in Section 10139.5 must be met. These include findings of the following:

(1) The transfer is in the best interest of the payee, taking into account the welfare and support of the payee's dependents.

(2) The payee has been advised in writing by the transferee to seek independent professional advice regarding the transfer and has either received that advice or knowingly waived, in writing, the opportunity to receive the advice.

(3) The transferee has complied with the notification requirements pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (f), the transferee has provided the payee with a disclosure form that complies with Section 10136, and the transfer agreement complies with Sections 10136 and 10138.

(4) The transfer does not contravene any applicable statute or the order of any court or other government authority.

(5) The payee understands the terms of the transfer agreement, including the terms set forth in the disclosure statement required by Section 10136.

(6) The payee understands and does not wish to exercise the payee's right to cancel the transfer agreement.

A court must also find that the transfer is “fair and reasonable” in light of the payee’s best interest and their dependents. (Ins. Code § 10137.)

The present petition pertains to Fredrick Sanders Jr. (Sanders), and alleges that he seeks to transfer the right to one $50,000.00 payment due him on November 10, 2032, to Petitioner J.G. Wentworth Originations, LLC, in exchange for a lump sum payment of $20,034.45. (Pet. at p. 4.) But although the petition states that it shall be supported by a declaration of Sanders to be filed later in the action, as of now no such declaration has been filed. (Petition at p. 4.)

Additionally, a notice of related case was filed on November 12, 2024, indicating that this case is related to an earlier-filed structured-settlement transfer case filed for Sanders in LASC Case No. 24STCP02662. And an OSC re: related cases is set in that matter for March 24, 2025. (See 11/19/2024 Order in LASC Case No. 24STCP02662.)

Given the absence of a supporting declaration of the payee and the pending related case hearing, the petition is DENIED without prejudice.