Jackpot! Using Lotteries to Distribute Class Action Settlement Funds

Business litigation partner Tyler Young authored an article for the legal journal The Green Bag, titled “Jackpot! Using Lotteries to Distribute Class Action Settlement Funds,” which offers a solution to how class-actions lawyers can distribute money in class-action settlement funds.

In the article, Young presents the advantages of the lottery distribution method. He states that the lottery method is when the money that remains in a settlement fund that cannot be distributed to class members in an economically rational way is distributed to several class members who are selected by lottery from the group who both submitted a claim and cashed the resulting settlement check. Young explains that the lottery method should increase claims rates and thereby enhance the legitimacy of class-action settlements.