i must know the answer to this unimportant question

I find myself a member of the aggrieved class in a class-action lawsuit. For a variety of reasons I don't want to discuss the specifics of this suit. Who the defendant is, and what it is accused of doing are not important for my blogging purposes.

What I am addressing is one aspect of the proposed settlement, and something that I find unclear. The fact is that the answer to my question won't make a material difference to me, but it's just a matter of curiosity.

According to the proposed settlement, the settlement fund will be divided among eligible class members, pro-rata, based on a certain well-defined measure (which I will call "M"). But, presumably to avoid administrative costs, no one will get a payout of less than ten dollars. Any class member whose share is calculated as less than ten dollars will forfeit his or her share, which will then be redistributed among the members of the class who are getting ten dollars or more.

But there is a subtlety to how this is to be accomplished that has me puzzled. Will they:

1. Make one pass at calculating shares. Then redistribute the settlements amounts of all class members receiving less than ten dollars; or
2. Make successive passes, each time taking the smallest shares and (if they are less than ten dollars) redistribute them to the members receiving more than ten dollars.

The second method will result in more people getting payouts.

To illustrate, I've created a very simple illustrative. Suppose there are three members of the class, Anna, Bertha and Claire. Their "M" values are, respectively, 90, 10 and 1 (for a total of 101). The total settlement fund is $100.

Under method 1:
Each class member's initial share of the payout is calculated as:
Settlement Fund × Individual "M" / Total "M"

Anna: 100 × 90 / 101 = $89.11
Bertha: 100 × 10 / 101 = $9.90
Claire: 100 × 1 / 101 = $0.99

Bertha and Claire each have shares that are less than $10, so they both get nothing. The $10.89 that was their initial share gets redistributed back to Anna, who ends up with the whole $100.

Under method 2:
Each class member's initial share of the payout is calculated as:
Settlement Fund × Individual "M" / Total "M"

Anna: 100 × 90 / 101 = $89.11
Bertha: 100 × 10 / 101 = $9.90
Claire: 100 × 1 / 101 = $0.99

Claire has the smallest share, and it's under $10. So she loses hers, which is redistributed to Anna and Bertha. Their preliminary shares are now recalculated as:

Settlement Fund × Individual "M" / Total "M" (among those remaining)

Anna: 100 × 90 / 100 = $90.00

Bertha: 100 × 10 / 100 = $10.00

Bertha has the smallest share, but it's at least $10. So she keeps it and there is no more redistributing.

I worked this all out in a spreadsheet here.

Now, of course, these numbers are artificial, and constructed to make the point. The actual lawsuit has a settlement fund of several million dollars, and the class has several thousand members. I am reasonably sure that my share will be higher than the ten dollar minimum, so I am better off if they follow method 1. Whether the difference (to me) is material, I can't say. But somehow I doubt it.