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AmEx Gets Anti-Steering Antitrust Suit Narrowed

By  |  January 26, 2021

American Express succeeded in narrowing a consumer lawsuit over “anti-steering” rules that bar merchants from pushing customers toward less costly payment methods, but a federal judge in Brooklyn let parts of the case move forward, reported Bloomberg Law. 

Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis threw out claims under the antitrust laws of 13 states and the consumer protection statutes of three, further paring back the proposed class action after his ruling in April dismissing federal antitrust claims from the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York.

The suit asserted state and federal antitrust claims on behalf of consumers without AmEx cards, who have argued that the anti-steering rules indirectly made their preferred payment methods more expensive by eliminating incentives for other credit cards to compete on fees.

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