HARRISBURG — A judge ruled that Pennsylvania's student loan agency acted with wanton disregard when it withheld spending records and ordered it to pay $48,000 in legal fees incurred by three media companies that fought in court for the documents.

The Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Authority acted willfully and disregarded the state's Right-to-Know Law in a battle over spending records, Commonwealth Court Judge Doris Smith-Ribner said.

The decision issued Friday said there was no legitimate reason for PHEAA to delay access to the records.

The records showed the lawmaker-dominated board spent hundreds of thousands of dollars at posh resorts between 2000 and 2005, including on luxuries such as alcohol, golf fees and spa treatments.

The agency has defended the spending as part of the cost of doing business, but has since moved to reform its expense policies.