What is a Cy Pres Award in a Class Action?
By Timo Bakker · July 3, 2026 · 4 min read
Cy pres (pronounced "sigh pray") is a French legal doctrine used in class actions to distribute settlement money that cannot be practically paid to class members — usually because the individual amounts would be tiny or many class members are unreachable. The money goes to a court-approved charity related to the case instead.
When cy pres applies
- Uncashed checks: Class members were mailed checks that never got cashed.
- Undeliverable mail: Class members moved and the administrator cannot find them.
- Unclaimed funds: Money was left over because not enough people filed claims.
- Impracticable distribution: The per-class-member payout would be so small (pennies) that the mailing cost would exceed the amount.
Which charities get chosen
The court approves cy pres recipients as part of the final settlement. Best practice: the charity should have a mission related to the alleged wrongdoing. A data breach settlement's cy pres might go to a consumer privacy nonprofit. A wage-and-hour settlement might fund a workers' rights organization. In practice, some cy pres selections have been controversial (charities with tenuous mission connections, or with ties to the parties' lawyers) — the Supreme Court has expressed skepticism.
Why this matters to you
If you do not file your class action claim, your share may go to cy pres — a charity, not the defendant. So doing nothing does not benefit the company being sued; it just diverts the money elsewhere. See the full breakdown.