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Cy Pres Awards

What is a Cy Pres Award?

 

A cy pres award is the distribution of money from a class action settlement to a charitable organization.

 

Cy pres awards are given to charitable organizations that:
 

  • Serve a public interest 

  • Can use funds in ways that indirectly benefit class members and their communities

  • Are efficient, transparent, and accountable

  • Match the geographic or subject-matter relevance of the case (if the class is local/statewide)

 

"Cy pres" comes from the French phrase cy pres comme possible, which translates to "as close as possible." The cy pres concept was first applied to wills and estates in regard to charitable trusts. If a person left money to a charity that no longer existed or was otherwise ineligible to accept the funds, the courts can move the funds to an organization whose mission was "as close as possible" to the will's original intent.

 

In 1986, the California Supreme Court endorsed the use of cy pres awards in class action lawsuits to distribute settlement money to the "next best" group of consumers whose interests may coincide with class members. This “next best” group are charity organizations like Open Heart Kitchen.

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When Would a Cy Pres Award Be Given?

 

When a class action lawsuit settles, not all of the money will be claimed by class members. Cy pres awards are a way for this unclaimed money to be put to good use. 

 

Cy pres awards are given in cases in which:
 

  • There is still money remaining in the class action settlement fund – even after all class members have been paid. Class members can also fail to cash their settlement checks, leaving a pool of unclaimed funds.

  • The amount of the settlement is too small to distribute directly to class members. (Think of those postcards you receive that ask if you bought a recalled product and would like to claim a portion of a court settlement regarding harm done by the product.) These settlements can be in the millions of dollars, but are impractical to distribute to class members because thousands of people are able to claim a settlement award.  

 

 

Cy Pres Distributions to Open Heart Kitchen

 

Open Heart Kitchen is eligible to receive cy pres distributions. To recommend Open Heart Kitchen for a cy pres award, please contact Anthony Parker, Major Gifts Officer,

at (925) 336-3758, or email at anthony@openheartkitchen.org.

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