PrintCY PRES AWARDS
As the charitable arm of The Chicago Bar Association, The Chicago Bar Foundation (CBF) is an ideal place to direct cy pres awards. Cy pres awards are funds in class action cases (and sometimes other types of proceedings like probate matters) that, for any number of reasons, cannot be distributed to the class members or beneficiaries who were the intended recipients. Under the cy pres doctrine and Illinois law, courts can distribute these residual funds to appropriate charitable causes, and the CBF and the legal aid organizations and related initiatives the CBF supports are appropriate beneficiaries.
The CBF’s mission of improving access to justice for the less fortunate makes it a perfect match for class action cy pres awards, as one underlying premise for all class actions is to make access to justice a reality for those who otherwise would not be able to obtain the protections of our court system. For state court cases, the CBF is an ideal place to distribute residual funds as required by a new Illinois law (735 ILCS 5/2-807).
Further information about cy pres awards, the CBF and the new Illinois law governing residual funds in class actions is available on the documents above. For more information about how you can make an impact by directing a cy pres award to the CBF, contact Bob Glaves of The Chicago Bar Foundation at (312) 554-1205 or bglaves@chicagobar.org.