Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, AGENCY NEWS: Antitrust Division attorneys honored at 63rd Annual Attorney General Awards, (Oct 22, 2015)
Organizations Mentioned:American Express
By Greg Hammond, J.D.
Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch honored a group of 15 Antitrust Division attorneys yesterday with the Distinguished Service Award for successfully litigating and enjoining anti-steering rules maintained by credit card companies.
The Distinguished Service Award is the Department of Justice’s second-highest award given for employee performance, the Justice Department announced. It is given to individuals who “exemplify the highest commitment to the department’s mission.”
The Antitrust Division members who received the Distinguished Service Award include: Litigation III Section Chief David Kully; Litigation III Section Assistant Chief Ethan Glass; Litigation III Section Trial Attorneys Craig Conrath, Andrew Ewalt, Mark Hamer, Gregg Malawer, Bennett Matelson, John Read, Lisa Scanlon, Joseph Vardner, and Rachel Zwolinski; Networks and Technology Section Trial Attorney Ihan Kim; Competition Policy Section Economists Jeffrey Lien and Diane Owen; and Economic Litigation Section Economist Deborah Minehart.
In 2010, the Antitrust Division filed a complaint against American Express, MasterCard, and Visa, seeking to enjoin anti-steering rules maintained by the credit card companies. The rules purportedly prevented millions of merchants who accept the companies’ credit cards from steering customers to alternative credit card brands. This, according to the Antitrust Division, allowed the three credit card companies to collect $50 billion in swipe fees and insulated the companies from the forces of competition. The Antitrust Division successfully settled with Visa and MasterCard (2011-1 Trade Cases ¶77,529) and litigated its case against American Express through trial, obtaining a favorable result (2015-1 Trade Cases ¶79,062).
“In addition to the significant benefits that the team’s success will bring to America consumers, it will also pay dividends for the division for many years as potential future defendants evaluate their risks of litigating against the Antitrust Division,” the announcement stated.
In total, 279 Justice Department employees and 33 other individuals outside of the Justice Department were recognized at the 63rd Annual Attorney General Awards.
“The 312 remarkable individuals receiving awards stood out within a department that holds all of its employees and partners to an extremely high standard of excellence,” Attorney General Lynch stated in her prepared remarks. “You have taken on issues that once seemed intractable and made progress on problems that once seemed impossible. And through it all, you have not only met, but exceeded, the expectations of your peers, your supervisors and the American people. You are examples to your colleagues, paragons of your profession and inspirations to public servants everywhere—including me.”
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