AmEx to Face Some Anti-Steering Claims 2 Years After SCOTUS Win

American Express Co. must face some state law antitrust claims over “anti-steering” rules that bar merchants from pushing customers toward less costly payment methods, a Brooklyn federal judge ruled, two years after the U.S. Supreme Court handed down a related ruling in AmEx’s favor.

Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis partly greenlighted and partly threw out the proposed class action Thursday.

The suit asserted state and federal antitrust claims on behalf of consumers without AmEx cards, who have argued that the anti-steering rules indirectly made their preferred payment methods more expensive by eliminating incentives for other credit cards to compete on fees. ...