§ 384.Payment and Distribution of Unpaid Residue of Class Action Judgment

Class action judgments rarely get claimed in full. Not every class member cashes a check or files a claim form, and Section 384 tells courts what to do with whatever is left over. Subdivision (a) states the policy behind the rule directly: unpaid residue and unclaimed or abandoned funds should be distributed, as fully as possible, in a way that furthers the purposes of the underlying case or promotes justice for Californians generally, because the Legislature considers that use of the money to be in the public interest.

Subdivision (b) supplies the mechanics. Before entering judgment in a class action under § 382 that pays money to class members, the court must determine the total amount payable if every class member collects the full amount owed, and set a date for the parties to report what was paid out in the end. Once that report comes in, the court amends the judgment to direct the defendant to pay the unpaid residue, plus any accrued interest, to nonprofit organizations supporting projects that benefit the class or similarly situated people, to organizations that promote the law behind the underlying claims, to child advocacy programs, or to nonprofits providing civil legal services to the indigent. Money from multistate or national cases brought under California law must provide substantial or commensurate benefit to California consumers.

Subdivision (c) carves out an exception: this section does not apply to a class action against a public entity or public employee. Even there, though, the subdivision preserves any equitable remedy a court might otherwise apply to unclaimed class funds.