State Rules for Legal Aid to Receive Class Action Residuals
Many states have implemented cy pres rules. Cy pres rules allow awards of unclaimed funds or those funds that cannot be distributed to the class members or beneficiaries. After it has been determined that the funds cannot be distributed to beneficiaries, the courts have to decide how those funds will be dispersed.
At least 24 states have implemented rules allowing courts to distribute the residual funds from class actions suits to legal aid programs. A description of state cy pres rules can be found here.