Dive Summary:
- A lawsuit filed in U.S. court in Manhattan comes before a deadline where merchants decide to accept legal damages or pursue their own individual legal action against MasterCard and Visa.
- Millions of merchants were affected by the litigation which accuses MasterCard and Visa of intentionally inflating swipe fees.
- Also named in the lawsuit as plaintiffs are JC Penney, Kohl’s and TJX. The suit seeks compensatory and triple damages. Walmart and 18 other companies have decided to pursue their own legal action separate from the suit.
From the article:
By "opting out" of the settlement, the retailers can pursue separate litigation seeking damages over allegations of past antitrust violations. But even so, merchants would still be bound by other injunctive relief if the settlement goes forward, including changes to Visa and MasterCard's swipe-fee rules.
