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US: 49 attorneys general make big warning against Visa, MC settlement

By  |  June 4, 2013

Forty-nine attorneys general – those of 48 states and one from the District of Columbia – have filed a statement of objections to a US District Court outlining their concerns about the proposed $7.25 billion settlement offer by Visa and Mastercard. The offer, which looks to end a controversy concerning the credit card companies’ practice of issuing swipe fees at the register, could disable states’ ability to bring antitrust cases on consumers’ behalf, say the AGs. Reports say the 31-page report, filed Tuesday in the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York, was filed ahead of deadline for formal objection submissions. According to West Virginia AG Patrick Morrissey, the settlement’s language “could set a dangerous precedent of private parties using a lawsuit to insulate themselves from future efforts by my office to enforce state and federal antitrust laws.”

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