Update March 17, 2023: The Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed all aspects of the District Court’s final approval order save one. At this time, it is unknown if any party will pursue further appeals. Additional details will be provided as they become available.
On March 15, 2023, the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed all aspects of the District Court’s final approval order save one; the Appellate Court directed the district court to reduce service awards to class representatives to the extent that its size was increased by time spent in lobbying efforts that would not increase the recovery of damages. You may read the opinion here. At this time, it is unknown if any party will pursue further appeals. Additional details will be provided as they become available.
The lawsuit is about claims that merchants paid excessive fees to accept Visa and Mastercard cards because Visa and Mastercard, individually, and together with their respective member banks, violated the antitrust laws.
The settlement creates the following Rule 23(b)(3) Settlement Class: All persons, businesses, and other entities that have accepted any Visa-Branded Cards and/or Mastercard-Branded Cards in the United States at any time from January 1, 2004 to January 25, 2019, except that the Rule 23(b)(3) Settlement Class shall not include (a) the Dismissed Plaintiffs, (b) the United States government, (c) the named Defendants in this Action or their directors, officers, or members of their families, or (d) financial institutions that have issued Visa-Branded Cards or Mastercard-Branded Cards or acquired Visa-Branded Card transactions or Mastercard- Branded Card transactions at any time from January 1, 2004 to January 25, 2019. The Dismissed Plaintiffs are plaintiffs that previously settled and dismissed their own lawsuit against a Defendant, and entities related to those plaintiffs. If you are uncertain about whether you may be a Dismissed Plaintiff, you should call 1-800-625-6440 or view the list of Dismissed Plaintiffs for more information.
The Notice has important information for merchants that accepted Visa and Mastercard at any time since January 1, 2004. It explains the settlement in a class action lawsuit. It also explains your rights and options in this case. The court also issued a “Notice of Exclusion” to the Dismissed Plaintiffs and an additional notice to those merchants explaining their right to file claims when claim forms become available.
For the full terms of the Settlement, you should look at the Superseding and Amended Definitive Class Settlement Agreement of the Rule 23(b)(3) Class Plaintiffs and the Defendants and its Appendices (the “Class Settlement Agreement”), available here or by calling 1-800-625-6440. In the event of any conflict between the terms of the Notice or this website and the Class Settlement Agreement, the terms of the Class Settlement Agreement shall control.
Please check this website for any updates relating to the settlement or the settlement approval process.