By Irving Scher ( November 2, 2018, 4:39 PM EDT) -- The cy pres class action doctrine takes its name from the French term "cy pres comme possible" or "as near as possible." It came into use in connection with unclaimed remainders in class actions on the theory that distributing such funds to charities was preferable to allowing the funds to revert to the defendant. Its status became uncertain in 2013 when the U.S. Supreme Court denied certiorari in a case in which class members received no monetary damages in a settlement, but class counsel was awarded a substantial legal fee with the balance awarded to a charity allegedly controlled by the defendant. In a brief explanation accompanying the denial, Chief Justice John Roberts wrote that there were "fundamental concerns surrounding the use of such remedies in class action litigation, including when, if ever, such relief should be considered; how to assess its fairness"; what the respective roles of the judge and parties should be; and "how closely the goals of an enlisted organization must correspond to the interests of the class ..." ...