US: Retailers ask SC not to revive credit card fee $7.25 billion settlement

The National Retail Federation and the Retail Industry Leaders Association Wednesday asked the US Supreme Court to let stand an appeals court ruling that struck down a controversial 2012 settlement of a class action lawsuit over Visa and MasterCard’s credit card swipe fees.

“This alleged ‘settlement’ was a backroom deal that would have done nothing to end price fixing or keep swipe fees from soaring in the future,” NRF Senior Vice President and General Counsel Mallory Duncan said. “Even worse, it includes a provision that would keep merchants from ever suing over this issue again. The Circuit Court did the right thing in tossing this case out and it should not be revived. There are ways to bring swipe fees under control but this settlement is not one of them.”

“This is not just a business-to-business dispute,” Duncan said. “These fees drive up the price of retail merchandise, costing the average family hundreds of dollars a year in added expenses.”

The 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals last year struck down a $7.25 billion antitrust settlement approved by US District Court Judge John Gleeson in a 2005 lawsuit brought by a small group of retailers and trade associations claiming to represent the retail industry.

Full Content: Yahoo! Finance

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