What Is the Doctrine of Cy-Près

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The Answer is The doctrine of cy-près is a legal concept that originates from French law, meaning "as near as possible" or "as close as possible." It is primarily used in the context of charitable trusts, but it can also apply to other areas of law such as class action settlements.

In the context of charitable trusts, the cy-près doctrine is applied when the original objective of the trust becomes impossible, impracticable, or illegal to achieve. When such circumstances arise, a court may intervene and redirect the trust's assets to another purpose that is considered as close as possible to the original intent of the donor or settlor. This allows the charitable trust to continue to operate and serve a public benefit, rather than failing altogether because its specific objective can no longer be met.

For example, if a charitable trust was established to support a particular hospital that has since closed, a court might apply the cy-près doctrine to redirect the trust's funds to another hospital or health-related charity that serves a similar community or purpose.

In class action lawsuits, the cy-près doctrine may be used when it is not feasible to distribute the settlement funds directly to all class members, often because the individual damages are too small to justify the cost of distribution or because not all class members can be identified or located. In such cases, the settlement funds may be distributed to organizations or projects that indirectly benefit the class members or support issues related to the subject matter of the lawsuit.

The application of the cy-près doctrine is typically subject to judicial oversight to ensure that the redirection of funds is as consistent as possible with the original intent behind the trust or settlement. It is a flexible tool that allows for the adaptation of charitable and legal outcomes to changing circumstances while still honoring the underlying purposes for which funds were set aside.

What Is the Doctrine of Cy-Près

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