cy pres

(sē′ prā′)

The doctrine that permits the terms of a charitable trust to be modified to achieve a purpose close to the donor's original intent where the original purpose cannot be legally or practically achieved.

[Middle English, from Anglo-Norman : cy, so, as (from Latin sīc, so; see sic¹) + pres, near (from Late Latin pressē, close to, from Latin pressus, past participle of premere, to press closely; see press¹).]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

cy pres

(siː ˈpreɪ) or

cypres

(Law) law the doctrine that the intention of a donor or testator should be carried out as closely as practicable when literal compliance is impossible

[C15: from Anglo-French, literally: as near (as possible, etc)]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

cy pres

or cy•pres

(ˈsi ˈpreɪ)
Law. adv.

1. as near as possible.

2. the doctrine, applied esp. to cases of charitable trusts or donations, that, in place of an impossible or illegal condition or object, allows the nearest practicable one to be substituted.

[1475–85; < Anglo-French: as near]

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun

cy pres - a rule that when literal compliance is impossible the intention of a donor or testator should be carried out as nearly as possible

cy pres doctrine, rule of cy pres

rule, regulation - a principle or condition that customarily governs behavior; "it was his rule to take a walk before breakfast"; "short haircuts were the regulation"

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References in periodicals archive

Moreover, the committee is looking forward to its upcoming Supreme Court oral argument regarding proposed cy pres Rule 1.220, which would clarify the mechanism for distributions of residual and unclaimed funds in class action lawsuits as part of a joint project with the Pro Bono Legal Services Committee.

Civil Procedure Rules

The parties negotiated a settlement agreement that would require Google to include certain disclosures on some of its webpages and would distribute more than $5 million to cy pres recipients, more than $2 million to class counsel, and no money to absent class members.

Class Action Stored Communications Violation

Class-Action Settlement; Cy Pres Distribution; Disgorgement of Attorneys' Fees

8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Digest: Jan. 3

Gaos, et al., a case involving Google that challenges how cy pres awards are made.

Supreme Court cases could undercut source of legal aid funding

The Florida Bar's Civil Procedure Rules Committee has submitted to the Florida Supreme Court an out-of-cycle report proposing to amend Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.220 (Class Actions) to create a permissive cy pres rule, which would allow courts to order that residual, undistributed, or unclaimed funds awarded in a class action be distributed to a nonprofit legal services organization, including the Florida Bar Foundation.

Amendments to the Rules of Civil Procedure dealing with class actions

(67) See further R Higgins, 'The Equitable Doctrine of Cy Pres and Consumer Protection' (2002) at: <www.tpareview.treasury.gov.au/content/subs/105_Attachmentl_ACA.rtf>.

REDRESS FACILITATION ORDERS AS A SANCTION AGAINST CORPORATIONS

If not, the charity may ask a court to apply cy pres to a purpose that has become impossible (the cure has been found), (1) or maybe wasteful (the endowment increased in value dramatically, producing far more income than needed to run the specified program).

RESTRICTED CHARITABLE GIFTS: PUBLIC BENEFIT, PUBLIC VOICE

The endowment was to be held in perpetuity with only the interest available for general funds, but with cy pres filings and the approval of the Attorney General's Charities Bureau of New York, the bequest has instead been significantly spent, while the hospital was taken over by SUNY Downstate Medical Center and eventually closed in 2014.

Protecting donor restrictions on bequests

Courts have attempted to remedy this issue by using cy pres, the practice of distributing unclaimed settlement funds to a "next best" plaintiff, often a charitable organization.

Never settle for second best? Cy pres distributions in securities class action settlements