The Philadelphia Parking Authority will have to pay over $100,000 to cover the cost of the legal representation for persons who sued a division of the PPA over the number of taxicabs that are inaccessible to people in wheelchairs, under a federal magistrate judge's order.

It has to pay those legal fees even though it didn't lose in court.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Lynne A. Sitarski of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania ruled, over the strong objection of the PPA, that the plaintiffs could collect attorney fees because they brought the suit under the Americans with Disabilities Act, even though they didn't win on the merits in court. The case settled with a consent decree last June.