What does champerty mean?
Champerty is a legal term for an arrangement in which someone who has no stake in a lawsuit agrees to finance or support it in exchange for a share of any winnings. Under medieval English common law it was treated as an offense, alongside its close relatives maintenance (improper backing of litigation) and barratry (stirring up quarrels), on the theory that such meddling bred frivolous suits. Over time, however, most jurisdictions abandoned harsh penalties, and modern litigation-funding arrangements are lawful in many places, though courts may still void bargains they deem oppressive. The word derives ultimately from Latin campi pars, 'part of the field,' via Old French champart, a landlord's share of crops — a fitting image for taking a cut of another's yield. Today champerty survives chiefly in contracts law, professional-responsibility rules, and discussions of third-party litigation finance.
A bargain in which a person with no prior interest in a lawsuit assists in prosecuting it in consideration of a share of the proceeds.
"The contract was declared unenforceable on grounds of champerty."
Often paired historically with maintenance and barratry as a trio of offenses relating to litigation.
The tortious or criminal character formerly attributed to such agreements under common law and early statute.
"Statutes against champerty were enforced vigorously in fourteenth-century England."
Rarely used in the plural; the concept is usually discussed in the singular.
"Old legal texts catalogued various forms of champerties condemned by statute."
In medieval England, bankrolling someone else's lawsuit could get you punished — because 'champerty' literally traces back to a landlord's cut of the harvest.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of champerty
Champerty comes through Middle French champart, meaning the portion of a crop owed by a tenant to a landlord, from Late Latin campi pars, 'part of the field.' The metaphor transferred to law: a stranger who backed a lawsuit took a slice of the eventual recovery much as a lord took a share of the harvest. It entered English legal vocabulary in the late medieval period and shares its ultimate root, Latin campus ('field'), with words such as campaign and champaign.
Related word forms
How champerty is actually used
Champerty belongs to formal legal register; outside law it appears mainly in historical or academic writing. Its status varies sharply by jurisdiction — many U.S. states have abolished it as a defense, while some retain limits on third-party litigation funding.
Easily confused with champerty
Maintenance is the broader offense of supporting another's litigation for improper reasons, while champerty is the specific form in which the supporter takes a share of the proceeds.