| Popis: |
All, or some portion, of class action awards and settlements is frequently directed to recipients other than members of the plaintiff class, this distribution governed by the rule of cy pres, which, however, has been interpreted with increasing latitude. After formalizing traditional cy pres doctrine to specify its goal of maximizing plaintiff compensation, the article analyzes current trends deviating from this requirement under the principle of public benefit. This divergence reached a new level in Price v. Phillip Morris, where a court-ordered distribution of several billion dollars to interest groups, especially lawyers, appeared structured to mobilize putative beneficiaries to support upholding the decision on appeal. Using a small dataset of orders in federal class action settlements, I show that "cy pres" distribution of money to law-related organizations, rather than best attempts to benefit plaintiffs, is now the common pattern in the courts. I close with some suggestions for reform under a return to compensatory principles. |
