Lawsuit funding is a term used to describe the borrowing form a court ordered settlement. If a lawsuit has been successful for the plaintiff, a settlement may be awarded to the plaintiff. This settlement is often in the form of an annuity or other fund that will pay out a specific amount of money over a specific period of time. If the plaintiff wishes to receive a larger portion of those funds prior to the actual payment being made, he or she may wish to borrow against the equity in the settlement. Third party providers who allow the plaintiff to obtain lawsuit funding through their services do this. There is often a large fee or interest applied to the borrowing of these funds in this manner.