What is claims-made settlement?
A claims-made settlement is a settlement structure in which the defendant pays only for claims actually submitted and approved, up to an aggregate cap or with no cap at all, rather than depositing a fixed common fund upfront that is divided among all claimants. Unclaimed money in a claims-made settlement typically reverts to the defendant instead of being redistributed to class members or sent to cy pres recipients.
Because unused funds usually revert to the defendant, claims-made settlements have drawn criticism when publicized settlement values vastly exceed what is actually paid out due to low claims rates, and some courts now require additional notice safeguards or minimum payment guarantees for this structure. Comparing a settlement's headline value to what an individual will likely receive requires knowing whether it is claims-made or a fixed common fund, since the payment mechanics differ substantially.
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Last reviewed 2026-08-22.