THE NEW YORK BAR FOUNDATION RECEIVES
 $17,500 IN CLASS-ACTION SETTLEMENT

Truth-in-Lending Act award supplements $1M in cy pres grants administered by the Foundation

The New York Bar Foundation has been awarded $17,500 in leftover proceeds from a class-action lawsuit to distribute to law-related charities around the state.

Judge P. Kevin Castel of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York recently signed an order authorizing a cy pres distribution to the Bar Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the New York State Bar Association.

The award represents a financial distribution from the case of Charles Milo v. Barney’s Inc. (10-CV-3133), in which a Barney’s customer alleged the retailer violated the Truth in Lending Act by not clearly listing the standard annual percentage rate on applications for Barney’s New York credit cards.

The Bar Foundation will use the money to fund charitable and educational projects that meet the law-related needs of the public and legal profession.

“Settlements such as the Charles Milo v. Barney’s fund expand grant opportunities for the Foundation to support more projects and residents throughout the state,” said Foundation President Cristine Cioffi of Schenectady (Cioffi, Slezak, Wildgrube). “We are pleased to receive this distribution to assist and oversee law-related charitable work in New York.”

Cy pres is a legal term used to describe an alternate appropriate use for unclaimed funds that remain after the proceeds from a class action settlement are distributed among the members of the class. This is the fifth cy pres settlement the Foundation has been awarded in the past four years.

“The Foundation is honored to be entrusted with these funds, which it will distribute to worthy law-related charities to continue their good works,” said Lesley Rosenthal of New York City (Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts), chair of the Cy Pres Committee of The Foundation.

Read the full news release here.