The Judiciary Branch of the Federal government will pay $125 million dollars to stop a class action lawsuit filed against it by several nonprofit groups representing users of the Public Access to Electronic Court Records system (PACER), alleging users were charged unnecessary fees to access the public system. The settlement agreement was confirmed by the Plaintiffs on Tuesday, in D.C. federal court.
To gain the court’s formal approval of the agreement, the class members advised the court that the deal would give users “100 cents on the dollar” and would pay users at least $350 in PACER fees that were paid from April 2010 to May 2018. Users that paid more than $350 will receive a pro-rated share of the remaining funds.
Not only has the Judiciary Branch agreed to the monetary relief, but it has also agreed to do away with PACER fees for 75% of its users moving forward. This case has also garnered the attention of Congress to take action in eliminating the fees altogether, plaintiffs said on Tuesday in their effort to have the agreement confirmed by the court.
