Retailers displeased with U.S. District Court Judge John Gleeson’s adjudicated settlement of litigation surrounding credit card interchange, including those in the convenience store industry represented by NACS, appealed his decisionMonday.
Judge Gleeson approved a negotiated settlement between retailers and defendants Visa, MasterCard and six major banks. Lawyers representing 13 individual retailers and six trade associations ranging from convenience stores to restaurants announced a $7.25 billion proposed settlement in 2013.
However, the National Retail Federation, which had not been party to the original suit, announced its intent to appeal the settlement in January. Monday’s filing also included the Retail Industry Leaders Association, a coalition made up of numerous groups, including NACS.
“Merchants are better off taking this case to trial and losing than accepting this flawed settlement,” said NACS President and CEO Henry Armour in a September 2013 swipe fee fairness hearing.
“The retail community remains fully committed to fighting this flawed settlement and addressing the fundamental lack of competition in the electronic payments market,” RILA Executive Vice President and General Counsel Deborah White said in a press release. “Quite simply, the proposed settlement not only undermines merchants’ legal rights and fails to restrain Visa and MasterCard’s ability to increase swipe fees with impunity, but it also has broad implications on the rights of others in future meritorious class action cases.”
