Cy Pres Funds Distributed to Educational and Civic Recipients

TISDAL & O'HARA partners Mart Tisdal, Pat O'Hara, and Patrick O'Hara, Jr. recently distributed over $200,000 to various educational and civic recipients, including the Erick, Oklahoma Public Schools; Mangum, Oklahoma Public Schools; Southwestern Oklahoma State University at Sayre, Oklahoma; Beckham County Drug Court; Legal Aid of Western Oklahoma; Sayre Memorial Hospital, Great Plains Regional Medical Center; the Washita/Custer County Drug Court; and the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma for Beckham and Greer Counties. These funds were approved for distribution by District Judge Doug Haught in an Order dated May 23, 2012, as part of a cy pres class action distribution in Dodson v. Phillips Petroleum, Case No. CJ-2004-119, Beckham County, Oklahoma.

The cy pres doctrine originated at common law. Today, the cy pres doctrine is utilized by courts in the class action context to direct funds that are not being distributed to individual class members to their "next best use." These distributions come as a direct result of the resolution of the above captioned case by class counsel Mart Tisdal, Pat O'Hara and Patrick O'Hara, Jr. of TISDAL & O'HARA, PLLC., and by Order of the District Court for Beckham County, Oklahoma.

Patrick O'Hara, Jr., Mart Tisdal, and Pat O'Hara present a check in the amount of $90,000
to Jeff Kelly, superintendent of the Erick, Oklahoma Public Schools.

Mart Tisdal, Patrick O'Hara, Jr., and Pat O'Hara present a check in the amount of $50,000
to representatives of Southwestern Oklahoma State University at Sayre. Photo courtesy of SWOSU.