The cy pres doctrine has become a hot topic in class action circles in recent years. For those not familiar with the concept as used in the class action context, cy pres awards are awards to third parties, typically charities, of unclaimed settlement funds or unclaimed portions of class action judgments. (See this August 11, 2008 CAB entry discussing cy pres).
In an intriguing new article entitled Cy Pres Relief and the Pathologies of the Modern Class Action: A Normative and Empirical Analysis, Northwestern Law Professor Martin H. Redish examines the legal and constitutional implications of cy pres awards in class actions and offers an empirical analysis of trends in the use of the practice. The link above will take you to an executive summary of the article at the Northwestern Law School Website, which in turn contains a link to a .pdf version of the full article.
ClassActionBlawg.com 
[…] competing plaintiff groups. The settlement also raises interesting questions about the use of cy pres awards to charity in lieu of direct payments to class members and the preclusive effect of a […]
[…] a societal or public policy point of view, however, cy pres is open to serious criticism. The civil justice system is intended to provide a forum for remedying private wrongs. If those […]
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[…] of other criticisms of cy pres awards in class action settlements. (See CAB entries dated October 11, 2009, October 28, 2009, and December 17, 2009 discussing cy pres […]