Rule Came Down On January 23, 2017.
U.S. District Judge Susan Illston, in Gbarabe v. Chevron Corp. (a class action relating to a gas explosion off the coast of Nigeria), ordered plaintiff to produce a funding agreement in the class action in a late 2016 order in response to a motion by Chevron.
The disclosure did not end in just that case. On January 23, 2017, the Northern District of California Civil Rules Committee adopted a revision to the district court’s standing order (Civil LR 3-15) which states “[i]n any proposed class, collective, or representative action, the required disclosure includes any person or entity that is funding the prosecution of any claim or counterclaim.” There is a lot of debate on the pros and cons of such a disclosure, but looks like it is here to stay and may spread based on the Northern District’s deep experience with class actions.