Labaton Sucharow LLP serves on the Executive Committee of this antitrust class action, pending before the Honorable John Gleeson in the Eastern District of New York. Plaintiffs, who seek damages and injunctive relief on behalf of a nationwide class of retailers, allege that Visa, MasterCard and their member banks have colluded to establish and fix the “interchange fees” and other fees charged to merchants for transactions processed over the Visa and MasterCard networks. Defendants exploit their credit card monopoly by forcing retailers to pay these increasing fees, they forbid them from passing on the cost to customers, and they forbid them from bypassing the credit card networks and processing the transactions through agreements with member banks. As a result, Visa and MasterCard are able to lure customers to use their cards with various perks and discounts, without reflecting the true cost of the service.

Plaintiffs have filed a consolidated complaint and have commenced discovery. Defendants’ motions to dismiss also is pending before the Court.