Exploring the Factors that Determine the Success of Litigation Crowdfunding: Implications for Social Justice

Abstract

Abstract Civil litigation is increasingly expensive; many victims are unable to afford court charges and attorney fees. This limits a plaintiff s ability to sue. Crowdfunding has emerged as a new way to cover expenses. This article explores factors that contribute to success in litigation crowdfunding. Using data from CrowdJustice we study the impact of valence, arousal, and dominance in case description, on the funding success, considering the number of pledges, target amount, description, country, and category of the cases. Our findings show that while valence and arousal are negatively associated, dominance is positively associated, with funding success. All three associations are stronger for public interest cases. We highlight the importance of affective words and offer evidence of affect-driven decision-making in backers seeking to support crowdfunding litigation cases. Next, we highlight the power of the crowd, and show that cases concerning causes with public awareness are most likely to be successful. Therefore, the scale of the support base is crucial. For crowdfunding litigators, attaching the right cause amplifies the impact of affective words on the likelihood of successful funding. This has ethical and justice implications for crowdfunding platform design.