Largest Class Action Settlement of an Antitrust Case Receives Final Approval
Largest Class Action Settlement of an Antitrust Case Receives Final Approval
On December 16, 2019, U.S. District Judge Margo K. Brodie of the Eastern District of New York granted final approval to a $6.3 billion settlement between credit card companies and merchants to resolve the merchants’ allegations that Visa, Mastercard and several big banks jointly maintained a series of anti-competitive rules that caused merchants to pay excessive transaction fees. In addition to approving the settlement, which was widely reported to be the largest antitrust settlement in U.S. history, Judge Brodie also granted attorneys’ fees amounting to $523 million and $39 million in expenses.
The lawsuit alleged that merchants paid excessive fees to accept Visa and Mastercard cards because the payment cards, individually and together with their respective member banks, violated the antitrust laws. The challenged conduct included the collective fixing of interchange fees and adoption of rules that hindered any competitive pressure by merchants to reduce those fees.
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Kristyn Fields’ practice is focused on antitrust litigation. Kristyn is a Partner in the firm’s New York office.
