NATIONAL VETERANS LEGAL SERVICES PROGRAM et al v. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Filing 65

RESPONSE re #64 MOTION For Free Access To Pacer filed by ALLIANCE FOR JUSTICE, NATIONAL CONSUMER LAW CENTER, NATIONAL VETERANS LEGAL SERVICES PROGRAM. (Gupta, Deepak)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
NATIONAL VETERANS LEGAL
SERVICES PROGRAM, NATIONAL
CONSUMER LAW CENTER, and
ALLIANCE FOR JUSTICE, for themselves
and all others similarly situated,
Plaintiffs,

Case No. 16-745-ESH

v.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Defendant.
PLAINTIFFS’ RESPONSE TO DON KOZICH’S VERIFIED MOTION FOR FREE
PACER ACCESS UNTIL FINAL DISPOSITION OF THIS CASE
Don Kozich, a proposed amicus curiae and absent class member, see ECF No. 49, has
filed a motion asking this Court to allow free PACER access pending final disposition of this case.
See ECF No. 64. The reason for his request is so that he may keep abreast of the proceedings
without having to pay large amounts in fees to electronically access the case filings.
We sympathize with his situation. There is simply no good reason why Mr. Kozich—a
disabled veteran looking to stay informed about this case—should have to pay up to $3 every
time he wants to access any of the 100+ filings to date, or any of the future filings. That is why
the plaintiffs (led by the National Veterans Legal Services Program) have filed this lawsuit
challenging PACER fees as excessive: the fees vastly exceed the cost of providing records through
PACER, in violation of the E-Government Act of 2002, and thus hinder public access to the
courts. And it is why several amici have filed briefs supporting our challenge, including the EGovernment Act’s sponsor, Senator Joe Lieberman, as well as the Reporters Committee for
Freedom of the Press and the American Association of Law Libraries. See ECF Nos. 59, 61, 63.

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Although the plaintiffs do not contend that the E-Government Act requires that PACER
access be free, we agree that Mr. Kozich should be able to access the filings in this case without
charge. For that reason, class counsel will ensure that all filings in this litigation are freely
available at http://www.pacerfeesclassaction.com/, under the “Court Documents” tab. (Major
filings will be listed at the top, so they can be accessed most easily.) Providing free, timely access
should address Mr. Kozich’s (legitimate) concerns, without the need for this Court to rule on the
merits of his motion. Class counsel have spoken with Mr. Kozich by phone, and he has
authorized us to inform the Court that he agrees with our proposed solution to make all filings
freely available.
Respectfully submitted,
/s/ Deepak Gupta
Deepak Gupta (D.C. Bar No. 495451)
Jonathan E. Taylor (D.C. Bar No. 1015713)
GUPTA WESSLER PLLC
1900 L Street, NW, Suite 312
Washington, DC 20036
[phone]
William H. Narwold (D.C. Bar No. 502352)
Elizabeth Smith
Meghan S.B. Oliver
William Tinkler
MOTLEY RICE LLC
401 9th Street, NW, Suite 1001
Washington, DC 20004
[phone]
Attorneys for Plaintiffs
September 29, 2017

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CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
I hereby certify that on September 29, 2017, I filed this response through this Court’s
CM/ECF system, which will send a notice of electronic filing to all counsel required to be served.
/s/ Deepak Gupta
Deepak Gupta