No. California law defines consumer legal funding as a nonrecourse transaction in which the funding company purchases a contingent right to a portion of the potential proceeds of your claim. A loan must be repaid regardless of what happens; this is repaid only out of proceeds, if there are any.
Why the distinction is more than wording
With a loan, the lender has recourse against you. Miss payments and they can pursue your wages, your accounts, your property, and your credit record.
With non-recourse funding, the company's right to payment attaches to the proceeds of the claim and nothing else. If the claim produces nothing, there is nothing to attach to.
What that means for your credit and your paycheck
Because repayment comes from the claim, the transaction doesn't create a payment obligation you have to service month to month, and it isn't collected the way a defaulted loan is.
Exactly what happens in your transaction is governed by your written contract, so confirm these points against it rather than against a web page.
Why the cost isn't comparable to a bank's
A lender who can collect regardless of outcome is taking far less risk than a funder who collects only on success. The pricing of each product reflects the risk being carried.
Comparing a funding charge to a mortgage rate isn't a like-for-like comparison. The right comparison is between funding offers, and the figure to compare is the total amount you would owe at a given point in time, which your contract has to state.
Talk to Green Light
Green Light Legal Funding, LLC is a California consumer legal funding company based in Beverly Hills, serving eligible personal injury plaintiffs with claims pending in California.
Call 310-303-1858 or request funding. There's no cost to ask and no obligation.
More on Pre-settlement funding in California.