Judge Urged to Sign Off on $125 Million PACER Fees Settlement

A federal judge should approve a $125 million settlement over user fees collected through the PACER electronic court records system, lawyers for nonprofits and the US government said during a court hearing.

Judge Paul Friedman of the US District Court for the District of Columbia is weighing whether to formally approve the proposed settlement, after he preliminarily signed off on the deal in May. He said on Thursday that he would rule “as soon as I can,” calling the case “important.”

The class action lawsuit — filed in 2016 by nonprofits National Veterans Legal Services Program, National Consumer Law Center and Alliance for Justice — challenged the legality of “excessive” PACER fees paid over a six-year period.

The Federal Circuit in 2020 upheld a lower court ruling that found the federal government couldn’t spend $192 million in PACER fees on other technology projects, but rejected some of the plaintiffs’ claims. The appeals court remanded the case.

The nonprofits and federal judiciary said in court papers last October that they had a reached a settlement. If approved, eligible PACER users would be automatically reimbursed up to $350 for fees they paid between April 21, 2010 and May 31, 2018. Class members would then receive a proportional amount of the remaining funds, without getting more than the total fees they paid during that time period.

Deepak Gupta, an attorney with Gupta Wessler PLLC who represents the plaintiffs, said during Thursday’s hearing that it was previously thought a case like this could never be brought, because of the difficulties in suing the federal judiciary.

“I think it is a testament to our judicial institutions that we could bring this case at all,” Gupta said, noting that the case against the federal judiciary was heard by federal judges.

US Justice Department lawyer Brenda González Horowitz told Friedman that the settlement is an “outstanding result” for the class members. She said it would have been difficult for the class to prove further unauthorized use of PACER funds.

Five people have objected to the terms of the settlement, including two who appeared at Thursday’s hearing. One of those objectors, Eric Alan Isaacson, said law firms may have already been reimbursed by clients for PACER fees during the time period.

Plaintiffs lawyer Meghan Oliver with Motley Rice said there was a way for people to report paying PACER fees for others on the website for the class. Gupta said that even if some class members were already reimbursed, it shouldn’t prevent the approval of the settlement.