Federal Judiciary

"Cy Pres: Impact on Justice" Award

By Michael C. Smith

I am pleased to report that at the Texas Access to Justice Commission's 25th Anniversary Gala benefiting the Texas Access to Justice Foundation on Wednesday, May 27 in Austin, my cocounsel Jeff Rasansky of Dallas, Jeremi K. Young of Amarillo (pictured left with Tom Gobold, TAJF board member from Houston) and I received the Cy Pres: Impact on Justice award in recognition of a recent award of cy pres funds from one of our cases totaling $230,160 to help bolster legal aid in Texas. Jeff and Jeremi (with minimal help from me - although I'm still keeping the award, assuming they'll send it to me) settled a federal case and played an instrumental role in awarding the resulting cy pres funds to the Texas Access to Justice Foundation
Cy pres awards are, by the way, residual funds from a class action or other proceeding that cannot be distributed to class members or the intended beneficiaries for a variety of reasons.  The Texas Access to Justice Foundation and Commission have launched a statewide campaign to seek cy pres awards to help impact funding for legal aid for the most vulnerable Texans. The recent award from our case will, I am proud to say, serve to jumpstart the campaign in Texas.  (If you have a case that might be a candidate for this, drop me a line and I'll put you in touch with the right people with the TAJC.  Your hard work might as well benefit people that need the help, as well as the clients you've worked so hard for).
Unfortunately, as you can tell I could not be there for the festivities - as savvy readers will remember, my twins were graduating from kindergarten, so Jeff and Jeremi - who deserve 100% of the credit anyway - got to receive it.     

Full post as published by Eastern District of Texas Federal Court Practice on May 31, 2009 (boomark / email).