
Bank of America Corp. and Wells Fargo & Co. escaped antitrust litigation over claims they engineered an industry group’s patent challenge as an end run around a settlement, when a federal appeals court in Philadelphia rejected the allegations Wednesday.
The US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit ruled for the banks in an unpublished opinion by Judges Stephanos Bibas, Theodore A. McKee, and L. Felipe Restrepo. The ruling upheld a decision by Judge John M. Vazquez, who threw the case out of a federal district court in Newark, N.J.
The lawsuit, filed in 2017, targeted the two banks, industry group Clearing House Payments Co., and its subsidiary Askeladden LLC. Clearing House is allegedly co-owned by 25 financial institutions, including BofA and Wells Fargo.
The suit accused the banks of breaching an earlier settlement with Verify Smart Corp., which develops multi-factor authentication technology, by pushing Askeladden to challenge one of Verify’s key patents. The move allegedly succeeded in invalidating the patent.
Vazquez tossed the case in April 2019 from the US District Court for the District of New Jersey. He dismissed claims that the banks dominated Askeladden through their small stakes in Clearing House or their board seats at the industry group.
The Third Circuit affirmed in a five-page ruling.
“While we agree with the district court that the timing of Askeladden’s patent challenge was ‘suspicious,’ we also agree that the LLC agreement actually shows the banks do not control which patents Askeladden challenges,” the appeals court wrote.
Want more news? Subscribe to CPI’s free daily newsletter for more headlines and updates on antitrust developments around the world.
Featured News
Meta Begins Defense After FTC Concludes Case in Landmark Antitrust Trial
May 15, 2025 by
CPI
UK Data Bill Still No Closer to Passage As Parliamentary ‘Ping-Pong’ Drags On
May 15, 2025 by
CPI
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Awarded $271.2M in Damages Against Amgen
May 15, 2025 by
CPI
FTC Chair Proposes 15% Staff Reduction Amid Budget Constraints
May 15, 2025 by
CPI
UK Urges Antitrust Watchdog to Prioritize Growth and Clarity in Business Regulation
May 15, 2025 by
CPI
Antitrust Mix by CPI
Antitrust Chronicle® – Healthcare Antitrust
May 14, 2025 by
CPI
Healthcare & Antitrust: What to Expect in the New Trump Administration
May 14, 2025 by
Nana Wilberforce, John W O'Toole & Sarah Pugh
Patent Gaming and Disparagement: Commission Fines Teva For Improperly Protecting Its Blockbuster Medicine
May 14, 2025 by
Blaž Višnar, Boris Andrejaš, Apostolos Baltzopoulos, Rieke Kaup, Laura Nistor & Gianluca Vassallo
Strategic Alliances in the Pharma Sector: An EU Competition Law Perspective
May 14, 2025 by
Christian Ritz & Benedikt Weiss
Monopsony Power in the Hospital Labor Market
May 14, 2025 by
Kevin E. Pflum & Christian Salas