Adopted May 11, 2012 · Not amended since adoption · Last verified June 30, 2026
In one sentenceAn order approving a class-action judgment or settlement that compensates members must provide for residual funds — the unclaimed remainder — at least half of which must go to the Pennsylvania Interest on Lawyers Trust Account Board.
(a)Any order entering a judgment or approving a proposed compromise or settlement of a class action that establishes a process for the identification and compensation of members of the class shall provide for the disbursement of residual funds.
(b)Not less than fifty percent (50%) of residual funds in a given class action shall be disbursed to the Pennsylvania Interest on Lawyers Trust Account Board to support activities and programs which promote the delivery of civil legal assistance to the indigent in Pennsylvania by non-profit corporations described in Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended. The order may provide for disbursement of the balance of any residual funds in excess of those payable to the Pennsylvania Interest on Lawyers Trust Account Board to the Pennsylvania Interest on Lawyers Trust Account Board, or to another entity for purposes that have a direct or indirect relationship to the objectives of the underlying class action, or which otherwise promote the substantive or procedural interests of the members of the class.
End
Plain-English Summary
This rule directs what happens to money left unclaimed after a class recovery. An order entering judgment or approving a settlement that sets up a process to identify and pay class members must provide for disbursing residual funds — the portion that goes unclaimed once members are compensated.
Of those residual funds in a given case, not less than fifty percent must be disbursed to the Pennsylvania Interest on Lawyers Trust Account Board, which supports legal-aid and justice-related activities. Channeling unclaimed money to that public purpose, rather than reverting it all to the defendant, keeps the recovery serving access-to-justice ends.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens to unclaimed money in a class settlement?
The judgment or settlement must provide for disbursing the residual funds as the rule directs.
Amendment History
The provisions of this Rule 1716 adopted May 11, 2012, effective July 1, 2012, 42 Pa.B. 2954.
Source & verification. Rule text, the Official Note, and the amendment
history are reproduced verbatim from the Pennsylvania Code, Title 231, the official compilation
of rules adopted by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. This rule has not been amended since its adoption. Last verified June 30, 2026. ·
Official text
Also known as:residual funds class actionunclaimed settlement fundsclass recovery distribution