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US: Visa, MC, AmEx, Discover can’t dismiss Chip antitrust claims

By  |  October 4, 2016

A California federal judge Monday said Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Discover can’t nix a putative class action alleging they conspired to give merchants the same deadline for shifting to chip card readers, ruling they’ll face antitrust claims under federal, New York, Florida and California law.

The lawsuit was originally filed on March 8, 2016. The court’s order found that plaintiffs’ allegations were sufficient to defeat a motion to dismiss, noting that certain statements by Visa and MasterCard officials “constitute direct evidence of a conspiracy.”

The court also found that plaintiffs had “alleged certain ‘plus factors’ that, when considered cumulatively, nudge the alleged conspiracy from conceivable to plausible” as to the card networks.

Full Content: RobbinsGeller Rudman & Dowd LLP

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