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US: American Express loses antitrust suit over merchant rules

By  |  February 19, 2015

The rules that American Express imposes on merchants to prevent them from steering customers to low-cost ways of paying are unlawful under a US antitrust law, a federal judge ruled on Thursday.

US District Judge Nicholas Garaufis of Brooklyn, who last year oversaw a trial in which the US Justice Department and 17 states accused Amex of harming competition, said he would come up with a remedy at a later date.

American Express failed to show that its so-called non-discrimination provisions, imposed on merchants who agree to accept its card, don’t harm competition, US District Judge Nicholas Garaufis in Brooklyn said in his ruling.

Full Content: The Wall Street Journal

 

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