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Visa and Mastercard file motion to dismiss ATM fee price-fixing suit

By  |  January 31, 2012

On January 30, Visa and MasterCard filed motions to dismiss three cases, all of which allege a conspiracy to fix ATM fees: Mackmin (No. 1:11-cv-01831), Stoumbos (No. 1:11-cv-01882), National ATM Council (No. 1:11-cv-01803). At dispute in Mackmin and Stoumbos are fees that consumers must pay when making transactions at ATMs not operated by the banks at which they have accounts. The National ATM Council is a trade association of ATM operators. All three claim that the defendants have rules that prevent ATM operators from charging higher access fees for transactions completed over Visa and Mastercard networks.

In their motion to dismiss, Visa and MasterCard argue that the facts alleged by the plaintiffs are insufficient to establish a conspiracy to restrain trade, and furthermore, that the facts fail to establish an antitrust injury because the rules prevent higher fees from being charged to consumers.

Source: The Blog of Legal Times