Class certified in PACER lawsuit

A memorandum opinion filed Tuesday in DC District Court granted plaintiffs’ motion for class certification in National Veterans Legal Services Program, et al. v United States of America.  The suit was filed on behalf of the NVLSP, the National Consumer Law Center, and the Alliance for Justice, and claims that the Federal Court system overcharges for online access to dockets and filings through their PACER database, in alleged violation of a 2002 law that states that fees for using PACER should not exceed the costs required to operate the database.  Judge Ellen Huvelle’s opinion indicates that anyone who paid PACER fees between April 2010 and April 2016 can be part of the class.  Read more at POLITICO (free access and includes a link to the opinion) and The National Law Journal (subscription required).