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PACER overcharge overview:
- Who: The U.S. government has agreed to pay $125 million to end a class action lawsuit filed against it by a group of nonprofits.
- Why: The settlement ends claims that the judiciary charges users excessive fees to run the Public Access to Electronic Court Records (PACER) system.
- Where: The PACER overcharge settlement was filed in a D.C. federal court.
The U.S. government has agreed to pay $125 million to end class action claims that the judiciary charged users excessive fees to use its electronic court records system.
The deal between the government and nonprofits the National Veterans Legal Services Program, National Consumer Law Center and the Alliance For Justice was filed Oct. 11 in a D.C. federal court.
In the bid for preliminary approval, plaintiffs say the settlement would provide users compensation of up to at least $350 for fees paid to use the Public Access to Electronic Court Records (PACER) system from April 2010 through May 2018.
Anyone who paid more than $350 would also get a pro rata share of the remaining funds, the PACER settlement states.
“In addition to this remarkable monetary relief, the case has spurred the judiciary to eliminate fees for 75% of users going forward and prompted action in Congress to abolish the fees altogether,” the plaintiffs say.
“By any measure, this litigation has been an extraordinary achievement—and even more so given the odds stacked against it.”
PACER settlement comes after class certification
According to the original lawsuit filed 2016, the fees collected for the public’s use of the PACER database exceed the amount that could be lawfully charged under the E-Government Act of 2002.
The plaintiffs alleged that the government was violating the law by charging fees that are used to cover costs beyond maintaining the web portal and providing access to records. PACER users are legally entitled to a refund of any excessive PACER fees they paid, their complaint claims.
The government argued it was authorized to set fees to the extent necessary for any project associated with providing access to information through electronic means.
However, the lawsuit was granted class certification by a district court, with an approved class of all individuals and entities that paid PACER fees between 2010 and 2016—a group of potentially hundreds of thousands.
Have you paid for PACER fees? Let us know in the comments!
The nonprofits are represented by Jonathan E. Taylor and Deepak Gupta of Gupta Wessler PLLC and William H. Narwold, Charlotte E. Loper, and Meghan S.B. Oliver of Motley Rice LLC.
The PACER class action settlement is National Veterans Legal Services Program et al. v. U.S., Case No. 1:16-cv-00745, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
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11 thoughts onUS government to settle PACER class action for $125M
I had to pay PACER fees numerous times between 2010 until 2015
The delay here is ridiculous. The Judge has had this since October. If he’s that busy kick it over to someone else who isn’t. One or two crackpot dissenters with less than a $1000 in claims. Only reason he’s delaying is because someone told him to.
I paid pacer fees between dates listed and continue to
I paid Pacer fees between 2011 – 2018
Yes
Yes, I have paid a lot of fees for Pacer. Please update me in the lawsuit. I did not realize how much until I got a bill.
Yes, I have paid Pacer fees between 2010 and 2016.
How do I make a claim? I was charged for using pacer.
Everyone who has paid PACER fees within the class period is a class member. There’s no claim form in this case. The fairness hearing will be on October 12, 2023. You can object to the settlement by September 12, 2023, but it seems pretty damn fair to me. The settlement will make everyone whole if you spent less than $350 between the class period. If you spent more than $350 between the class period, then it will guarantee you $350 + an additional pro rata distribution up to the amount paid + one further distribution. If there are any remaining funds after attorney fees, expenses and paid claims, then it gets returned to the Treasury. It doesn’t appear there will be any interest bump for class members since funds have not been deposited yet. Also, if the court agrees, and there are no objections, then payment won’t happen until sometime after mid-April 2024.
Absolutely have paid fees – the job I had to use this alot- not sure how to go about filing for a claim ..
I had paid PACER fee’s but unsure where to find it