If you paid fees to access federal court records on PACER at any time between April 21, 2010 and May 31, 2018, a proposed class action settlement may affect your rights.

WASHINGTON, July 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The following statement is being issued by the PACER Fees Class Action Administrator regarding notice of proposed class action settlement in National Veterans Legal Services Program, et al. v. United States:

YOU ARE HEREBY NOTIFIED, pursuant to Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and Order of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, that the parties in National Veterans Legal Services Program, et al. v. United States have reached a settlement for $125,000,000, and your rights may be affected. The Court has not granted final approval of this settlement.

The Court previously certified a class of "all individuals and entities who have paid fees for the use of PACER between April 21, 2010, and April 21, 2016, excluding class counsel in this case and federal government entities." Members of that class were provided an opportunity to opt out in 2017.

If you paid PACER fees between April 21, 2010 and April 21, 2016, you may appear at the fairness hearing on October 12, 2023 to object to the settlement if you choose, and you may receive a settlement payment.

If you paid PACER fees for the first time between April 22, 2016 and May 31, 2018, you may choose to exclude yourself from the settlement, or you may remain a member of the class. If you choose to remain a member of the class, you may appear at the fairness hearing on October 12, 2023 to object to the settlement, and you may receive a settlement payment, but you give up your right to sue the United States government about the same claims in this lawsuit. If you exclude yourself, you cannot get any money from the settlement, but you will keep your right to separately sue the United States government over the legal issues in this case. More information about how to request exclusion and an exclusion request form can be found on the website at www.pacerfeesclassaction.com.

Settlement Payments: Settlement payments will be made by a settlement claims administrator based on PACER billing records reflecting accountholder information maintained by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. If you are not a PACER accountholder, but directly paid PACER fees on behalf of someone else (e.g., a law firm or company paying fees on behalf of employees), you may be a class member, and may notify the claims administrator that you paid PACER fees on someone else's behalf www.pacerfeesclassaction.com. That notification must be made no later than September 5, 2023. If you are an accountholder and someone else directly paid your PACER fees on your behalf, you should direct payment to that person or entity at www.pacerfeesclassaction.com. You must direct payment no later than September 5, 2023. If you are an accountholder and directly paid your own PACER fees, you will automatically be mailed a check. If you accept payment of any settlement proceeds, you are verifying that you paid the PACER fees and are the proper recipient of the settlement funds.

Each class member (i.e., payer of PACER fees) will receive a minimum payment amount equal to the lesser of $350 or the total amount paid in PACER fees by that class member for use of PACER during the Class Period (April 21, 2010 through and including May 31, 2018). The remainder will be allocated pro rata (based on the amount of PACER fees paid in excess of $350 during the Class Period) to all class members who paid more than $350 in PACER fees during the Class Period.

If there are unclaimed or undistributed funds, there will be a second distribution. The only class members who are eligible for a second distribution are those who: (1) paid a total amount of more than $350 in PACER fees for use of PACER during the Class Period; and (2) deposited or otherwise collected their payment from the first distribution. The administrator shall determine how many class members meet this requirement, and then distribute to each class member an equal allocation of the unclaimed or undistributed funds. No class member may receive a total recovery (combining the first and second distributions) that exceeds the total amount of PACER fees that the class member paid for use of PACER during the Class Period.

This is only a summary of the proposed settlement. For a more detailed Notice of Proposed Class Action Settlement, additional information on the lawsuit and proposed settlement, and a copy of the settlement agreement, visit www.pacerfeesclassaction.com, call 1-866-952-1928, or write to: PACER Fees Class Action Administrator, P.O. Box 301134, Los Angeles, CA 90030-1134.

DATED: July 6, 2023
BY ORDER OF THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

SOURCE PACER Fees Class Action Administrator