Section 1950

Citation: Section 1950
Parent Document: Granberry v. Islay Investments, 889 P.2d 970 (1995)
Jurisdiction: California (state)
Effective Date: 1995-03-06
Original Source: https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/1436586/granberry-v-islay-investments/ ↗

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A trial court has several sources of guidance in dealing with the unclaimed residual of a class recovery. As the majority acknowledges, the class action is a creature of equity, and it is a first principle of equity that a wrongdoer should not be permitted to profit from its wrongs. (See § 3517 [“No one can take advantage of his own wrong.”]; see also Shepherd, Damage Distribution in Class Actions: The Cy Pres Remedy (1972) 39 U.Chi. L.Rev. 448 [retention of unclaimed residue by the defendant results in “unjust enrichment of the defendant”].) Consequently, this court has previously held that the various methods of distributing the unpaid residual of a class recovery that go under the name of “fluid recovery” may be “essential to ensure that the policies of disgorgement or deterrence are realized” and should be utilized where appropriate to “fulfill[] the purposes of the underlying cause of action.” (State of California v. Levi Strauss & Co. (1986) 41 Cal.3d 460, 472 [224 Cal.Rptr. 605, 715 P.2d 564].)

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