Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, ANTITRUST NEWS: Urban Outfitters agrees to settle Visa, MasterCard interchange fee antitrust suit, (Aug 11, 2015)
Law Firms Mentioned:Arnold & Porter LLP | Holwell Shuster & Goldberg LLP | Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP | Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP
Organizations Mentioned:Arnold & Porter, LLP | Hangley Aronchick Segal Pudlin & Schiller | Holwell Shuster & Goldberg, LLP | MasterCard Inc. | MasterCard International Inc. | Mastercard | Mastercard International, Inc. | Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison, LLP | Urban Outfitters, Inc. | Visa | Visa Inc. | Visa International Service Association | Visa U.S.A. Inc. | Willkie Farr & Gallagher, LLP
By Linda O’Brien, J.D., LL.M.
U.S. clothing company Urban Outfitters agreed to settle its claims in multidistrict litigation against Visa and MasterCard and their issuing and acquiring banks for an alleged conspiracy to fix credit and debit card interchange fees paid by merchants, according to a stipulation in the federal district court in Brooklyn, New York (In re Payment Card Interchange Fee and Merchant Discount Antitrust Litigation, August 7, 2015).
Urban Outfitters, Inc., along with approximately 12 million merchants, filed a series of class action suits against Visa, Inc. and MasterCard International Corporation, as well as their issuing and acquiring banks, alleging violations of Section 1 of the Sherman Act. The plaintiffs asserted that the companies conspired to fix interchange fees and merchant discount fees by adopting and enforcing practices relating to payment cards that unreasonably restrained trade and caused injury to the merchants.
In a brief stipulation and order of dismissal with prejudice, Urban Outfitters has agreed to settle its claims against Visa and MasterCard, with each side bearing its own attorneys’ fees and costs. No further details of the agreement were provided.
Attorneys: Eric L. Bloom (Hangley Aronchick Segal Pudlin & Schiller) for Urban Outfitters, Inc. Robert C. Mason, Robert J. Vizas, and Mark R. Merley (Arnold & Porter LLP) and Richard J. Holwell, Michael S. Shuster, Demian A. Ordway, and Zachary A. Kerner (Holwell Shuster & Goldberg LLP) for Visa U.S.A. Inc., Visa Inc., and Visa International Service Association. Gary R. Carney and Kenneth A. Gallo (Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP) and Matthew Freimuth and Wesley R. Powell (Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP) for MasterCard International Inc. and MasterCard Inc.
Companies: Urban Outfitters, Inc.; Visa U.S.A. Inc.; Visa Inc.; Visa International Service Association; MasterCard International Inc.; MasterCard Inc.
News: Antitrust NewYorkNews