McDonald's Lawsuit Settlement Agreement Terms

1. McDonald’s would pay $10 million into a "cy pres" fund. "Cy pres" (pronounced "see pray") is a legal term that means "as close as possible," and refers to the fact that it would be impractical and very expensive to track down and verify every person who ate at McDonald’s between 1990 and 2001 and didn’t want beef in their fries.

2. The $10 million would go 60% to "vegetarian organizations," 20% to "Hindu or Sikh organizations" 10% to children’s nutrition or hunger relief organizations, and 10% to organizations promoting Kosher observance and education. Both sides would need to agree on the recipients of the money, which would also have to be agreed to by the judge. Criteria used in judging the recipients included the nonprofit status of the group, dedication of the group to the values of the category in which they are subsumed (vegetarian, Hindu or Sikh, etc.), and geographical reach of the organization.

3. McDonald’s would also issue an apology, revise their list of ingredients to identify the source of their flavorings (no more hiding behind the "natural flavors" label), and appoint a "vegetarian nutrition advisory board" with members agreed upon by both parties.

4. There would also be limited awards, not more than $4000 each, for the individually named plaintiffs, and McDonald’s agrees to pay up to $2,452,000 in attorney’s fees and costs in addition to the cy pres fund.