Enhancing Competition Through the Cy Pres Remedy: Suggested Best Practices

This paper reviews the law that relates to the cy pres doctrine which provides the ability of courts to approve settlements in antitrust class actions, whereby the defendants' funds are distributed to organizations having a nexus to the case, rather than to successful claimants within the class. The paper advocates use of the cy pres remedy as a method of enhancing competition. Wary of potential criticisms of cy pres, the paper suggests a series of best practices for regularizing a process that may be characterized as largely ad hoc.