Cy Pres
Literal meaning: “As near as possible (from Norman French cy pres comme possible)”
What does the Latin term "Cy Pres" mean in law?
Cy pres is an equitable doctrine that allows a court to modify the terms of a charitable gift or trust when the donor's original charitable purpose becomes impossible, impracticable, or illegal to fulfill. Rather than allowing the gift to fail entirely, the court redirects it to a purpose as near as possible to the donor's original intent. The doctrine has expanded significantly in modern class action practice, where cy pres awards distribute unclaimed settlement funds to charitable organizations whose work relates to the interests of the class members. Courts applying cy pres must identify a charitable purpose that reasonably approximates the interests being advanced by the underlying litigation. The Supreme Court has scrutinized cy pres settlements for potential conflicts of interest and adequacy of representation.
Source: Equity · Legal Latin
Legal Definition
Cy pres is an equitable doctrine that allows a court to modify the terms of a charitable gift or trust when the donor's original charitable purpose becomes impossible, impracticable, or illegal to fulfill. Rather than allowing the gift to fail entirely, the court redirects it to a purpose as near as possible to the donor's original intent. The doctrine has expanded significantly in modern class action practice, where cy pres awards distribute unclaimed settlement funds to charitable organizations whose work relates to the interests of the class members. Courts applying cy pres must identify a charitable purpose that reasonably approximates the interests being advanced by the underlying litigation. The Supreme Court has scrutinized cy pres settlements for potential conflicts of interest and adequacy of representation.
How It's Used
In trust law, cy pres prevents the failure of charitable trusts when circumstances change. In class action litigation, cy pres distributions have become common for residual funds that cannot practically be distributed to individual class members, though courts increasingly require a nexus between the recipient charity and the class's claims.
Example Sentences
When the orphanage designated in the testator's will closed permanently, the court applied cy pres and directed the funds to a children's welfare organization in the same community.
The court approved a cy pres distribution of the unclaimed class action settlement funds to legal aid organizations serving consumers in the affected region.
The Supreme Court questioned whether the cy pres settlement adequately served the absent class members' interests when the funds were directed to organizations with no clear connection to the underlying privacy claims.