The United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida has awarded the Law School’s Compliance, Investigations and Corporate Responsibility Program (CICR) $335,233 from the residual settlement funds in the In re Disposable Contact Lens Antitrust Litigation. The class action litigation, filed against several disposable contact lens manufacturers, settled in late 2022 for $118 million. When class action lawsuits settle, courts typically distribute any settlement funds remaining after resolving the claims of all class members, fees, and expenses, to organizations whose work is aligned with the purposes of the plaintiffs and the goals of the litigation. In this case, the lawsuit sought to compensate those injured, discourage antitrust violations, and uphold the rule of law by promoting responsible corporate behavior.

CICR is one of eight organizations that received equal shares in the residual settlement funds from the In re Disposable Contact Lens litigation. The others are: Public Citizen Foundation, Wolfson Children’s Hospital, the American Antitrust Institute, the Florida State University College of Law, the National Consumer Law Center, Public Justice, and the Berkely Center for Consumer Law & Economic Justice.

CICR came to light as a possible recipient of one of the cy pres awards when co-lead counsel Joseph Guglielmo '95, a Catholic Law alumnus who is a partner in the New York office of Scott & Scott LLP and Chair of the firm’s Consumer Practice Group, spotted the CICR website while searching for prospective cy pres award recipients. Mr. Guglielmo contacted CICR Director Sarah Duggin to discuss the potential award. The plaintiffs subsequently recommended CICR to the court as a potential award recipient, and the court agreed.

Professor Duggin shared, “We are delighted to receive the cy pres award and grateful to the plaintiffs, the court, and Mr. Guglielmo and his colleagues. The cy pres award will allow CICR to enhance program offerings, undertake additional academic and co-curricular activities, and create scholarship and fellowship opportunities to benefit our students. With these funds, CICR willl be able to expand the ways in which we train future lawyers to promote compliance with the law and help create ethical, socially responsible cultures in businesses and other organizations that impact our communities, our nation, and the world.”