Judge: Lynne M. Hobbs, Case: 25STCP01574, Date: 2025-05-29 Tentative Ruling
Case Number: 25STCP01574 Hearing Date: May 29, 2025 Dept: 61
J.G. WENTWORTH ORIGINATIONS, LLC vs KYLE MCLAUGHLIN
Tentative:
J.G. Wentworth Originations, LLC’s Petition to Approve Transfer of Payment Rights is GRANTED.
Analysis:
I. TRANSFER PETITION
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 Payee Kyle McLaughlin and Petitioner J.G. Wentworth Originations, LLC (Petitioner). The Petition alleges that McLaughlin seeks to transfer the right to one $33,000.00 payment due him on April 30, 2036, to Petitioner, in exchange for a lump sum payment of $5,000.00. (Petition at p. 4.) The Petition contains the disclosure form required by Insurance Code § 10136, stating that the payment rights he is selling have a present value of $19,276.34, and that if McLaughlin took out a $5,000 loan and made payments equivalent to that which he was giving up over the relevant time-frame, the interest on that loan would amount to 18.68% per year.
The petition is augmented belatedly by a key item of evidence, a declaration of McLaughlin attesting to his need for the funds and why the transfer is in his best interest. (Petition 4.) It contains sufficient facts justifying the payment, his best interests, and whether all disclosures and waivers have been made by him, as required under Insurance Code §§ 10139.5 and 10137.
Accordingly, the petition is GRANTED.