Berger & Montague is one of
two plaintiffs' Co-Lead Counsel in this
case. Plaintiffs secured a nationwide settlement agreement
in this consolidated federal class action about use of certain
payment cards for foreign transactions. On November 4, 2009, the
United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
granted final approval of the settlement, which is currently on
appeal.
The lawsuit concerns the fees that
cardholders of Visa- and MasterCard-branded credit and debit/ATM
cards, and Diners Club cards, have been charged to make
transactions denominated in a foreign currency or with a foreign
merchant. The plaintiffs claimed that the defendants violated
federal and state antitrust laws, disclosure (truth-in-lending)
laws, and other legal standards. The defendants deny any
wrongdoing. Settlement was reached following years of
litigation, after extensive negotiations, and with the assistance
of a mediator. Defendants in the case include Visa, MasterCard,
Bank of America, Bank One/First USA, JPMorgan Chase, Citibank,
Diners Club, HSBC/Household, MBNA and Washington Mutual/Providian.
Card accounts covered by the settlement include brands such as
Visa, Interlink, Plus, MasterCard and
Cirrus.
Under the settlement,
defendants paid $336 million to create a settlement fund to pay
monetary claims by eligible cardholders, the costs of administering
the settlement and notice to cardholders, and any Court-approved
fees and expenses to attorneys for the class and awards to the
class representatives.
In addition to being one of the largest consumer
class action antitrust settlements ever, the case was notable for
improvements in required disclosures by defendants, and for
innovative procedures for distributions which have resulted in the
filing of millions of claims.
The case is currently on appeal.