PITTSBURGH (AP) - An Allegheny County judge says a law firm can pursue a class-action lawsuit on behalf of patients who say the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center charges them too much for copies.

Hon. R. Stanton Wettick Jr. says UPMC can't charge $1.50 per page under a state law allowing hospitals to bill any "reasonable rate" for copies of records.

Wettick says the Medical Records Act only lets hospital charge for "actual expenses" to ensure "costs are not padded."

UPMC's attorneys argued that the state Supreme Court let it charge $1.50 in another case. But Wettick says that case didn't consider the same legal issue.

The lawsuit wants UPMC to pay refunds to patients allegedly overcharged since Sept. 1, 2005.