The card networks rejected retailers’ objections to a proposed court settlement and suggested plaintiffs are too optimistic about winning at trial.
Dive Brief:
- Merchants wrongly discount the value of “sweeping concessions” made by Visa and Mastercard on fee cuts and other major card acceptance changes in a proposed settlement to end decades of litigation over card interchange costs, the card networks said Wednesday in a federal court filing.
- Retailers, including Walmart, grocers and convenience stores, face “significant risks” proving their antitrust claims at trial and on appeal, the networks wrote in their reply to numerous objections from the merchant plaintiffs. Visa and Mastercard asked the court for preliminary approval of the settlement.
- In their filing, the networks also asked U.S. District Judge Brian Cogan to reject Walmart’s request to divide the plaintiff’s class or to allow merchants to opt out. “Walmart’s interests were adequately represented by class counsel, and, to the extent it disagrees with the outcome, it will be fully heard by this Court through the settlement approval process,” Visa and Mastercard wrote. “Nothing more is required.”