The federal judiciary settled a long-standing federal court case, agreeing to pay $125 million to users of PACER, the Public Access to Court Electronic Records system, effectively refunding subscription costs for low-volume users over the past five years, the Washington Post reports.
The PACER system holds more than 500 million documents–all unclassified and registered appropriately with the court–giving access to the records to anyone with a computer. Hailed by advocates for government transparency, the system charged The settlement provides up to $350 per user from 2010 to 2018, with the remaining funds going to high-volume users who incurred more charges.
The refunds were the result of a lawsuit brought by a number of legal services organizations and associations who claimed the fees charged for access to PACER were excessive and in violation of federal laws which require such fees to only cover the cost of the service. The plaintiffs allege the judiciary was using the inflated fees to cover other costs.