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

Filing 8

MOTION to Certify Class by ALLIANCE FOR JUSTICE, NATIONAL CONSUMER LAW CENTER, NATIONAL VETERANS LEGAL SERVICES PROGRAM (Attachments: #1 Declaration of Deepak Gupta, #2 Declaration of William Narwold, #3 Declaration of Jonathan Taylor, #4 Text of Proposed Order)(Gupta, Deepak)

Case 1:16-cv-00745-ESH Document 8-4 Filed 05/02/16 Page 1 of 3

EXHIBIT 4

Case 1:16-cv-00745-ESH Document 8-4 Filed 05/02/16 Page 2 of 3

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.
[PROPOSED] ORDER
It is ORDERED that the plaintiffs’ motion for class certification is hereby GRANTED
because the plaintiffs have satisfied the requirements of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23, and
that the class defined herein shall be maintained as a class action under Federal Rule of Civil
Procedure 23(b)(3).
The Court certifies the following class: “All individuals and entities who have paid fees for
the use of PACER within the past six years, excluding class counsel and agencies of the federal
government.” The Court further certifies one class claim alleging that the fees charged for
accessing court records through the PACER system—set at the same rate across the federal
judiciary—far exceed the cost of providing those records, and thus violate the E-Government
Act, which authorizes fees “as a charge for services rendered,” but “only to the extent necessary”
to “reimburse expenses in providing these services.” 28 U.S.C. § 1913 note.
It is further ORDERED that Gupta Wessler PLLC and Motley Rice LLC are hereby
appointed as co-lead class counsel.

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Case 1:16-cv-00745-ESH Document 8-4 Filed 05/02/16 Page 3 of 3

It is further ORDERED that within 30 days of the date of this order, the parties shall file
an agreed-upon proposed form of class notice. If the parties cannot agree on a proposed form of
class notice, then they shall file separate proposed forms within 30 days of the date of this order.
Class counsel shall then ensure that individual notice is provided to all absent class members who
can be identified through reasonable effort using the records maintained by the defendant, as
required by Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(c)(2), within 90 days of the Court’s order
approving the form of notice. Class counsel shall pay all costs incurred to provide notice.

This ____ day of __________, 2016

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___________________________
ELLEN SEGAL HUVELLE,
Senior United States District Court Judge