ALBANY – Despite the legislative session concluding for 2017 late last month, a tort-reform business group is already pushing for a bill that would regulate the third-party consumer litigation funding industry.

The Lawsuit Reform Alliance of New York is spending the next five months pushing lawmakers to regulate firms that advance funds to people who are awaiting legal settlements.

The litigation lending industry arose in the 1990s as part of a trend in which investors, including hedge funds, individuals and banks bet on the outcome of other people's lawsuits, while at the same time lending to plaintiffs. Only about 11 states have regulated any aspect of it, according to Reuters.