When you finally reach an agreement to settle a hotly contested class action, you want more than anything for the court to approve your settlement agreement and for the case to be over. But, to get to the end of the case, both class counsel and defense counsel need to anticipate problems in the settlement process and build effective solutions into the settlement agreement and fairness hearing. One obvious and important problem is what to do about any undistributed residue after distribution of the settlement funds to class members. This article is your guide to dealing with the residue problem and the cy pres solution in a way that will satisfy the most meticulous judge and will avoid or defeat objections to the settlement.

Originally published by the American Bar Association - January 30, 2023.