Who gets the money – that’s an important issue for tort lawyers and is not always a simple subject. For example, mass tort claims and/or class actions often are settled through the creation of trust funds or claiming funds. Sometimes the claims do not use up all the money in the fund or the trust. When that happens, where does the money go?
The leftover funds sometimes are the subject of “cy pres” awards. Cy pres awards are court-approved awards intended to disburse the money in a manner reasonably close to the original intent of the creator of the fund or trust. The awards are often made to public interest litigation groups, if the money is not required to revert to the creator do the fund.
Some states regulate the standards for cy pres awards. This online summary from Jones Day provides a very useful summary of existing state statutes on cy pres awards, and some discussion of the applicable standards. The article is by Emily C. Baker and Lynsey Morris Barron.
Hat tip to Lexology for circulating news of the article.