The Payment Card Interchange Fee Class Action Lawsuit is entitled In re Payment Card Interchange Fee and Merchant Discount Antitrust Litigation and revolves around claims that credit card companies conspired with major banks to fix interchange, or swipe, fees charged to merchants when customers pay with plastic. This lawsuit is thought to be the largest-ever antitrust settlement. The case will be Judged by Judge John Gleeson out og the Eastern District of New York. The lawsuit is being brought against Visa, MasterCard and some very well known banks to include Bank of America, First National Bank of Omaha, Wells Fargo & Company, JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., Capital One Financial Corporation and Bank One Delaware just to name a few. There are two different classes in the proposed Class Settlement and include the (1) Cash Settlement Class (Rule 23(b)(3) Settlement Class) and the (2) Rule Changes Settlement Class (Rule 23(b)(2) Settlement Class). The cash settlement class includes anyone who accepted Visa or MasterCard credit cards in the US from January 1, 2004 to the Settlement Preliminary Approval Date. Some major players in the settlement class include major corporate stores like Wal-Mart, Target and the Home Depot.
The following law firms have been assigned to represent the class members in this lawsuit:
- K. Craig Wildfang
Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi L.L.P.
- H. Laddie Montague, Jr.
Berger & Montague, P.C. - Bonny E. Sweeney
Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP
Both the exclusion and objection deadline date has been set as May 28, 2013. The claim form will be available after the settlement fairness hearing that is set to take place on September 12, 2013. The hearing will be located at the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York 225 Cadman Plaza Brooklyn, NY 11201. Class members are not required to attend the hearing. Please note that the date of the hearing and time are subject to change. Once the claim form is available a class member can call 1-800-625-6440 to obtain a copy.
