Visa, Mastercard Lose Another Bid to Toss Swipe Fee Litigation

Visa Inc. and Mastercard Inc. lost another bid to stop long-running litigation brought by merchants accusing the credit card giants of colluding on “swipe fees.”

Judge Margo Brodie of the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York denied the card companies’ motion for summary judgment in an opinion unsealed late last week, brushing aside their argument that the merchants lacked standing as direct purchasers of card services under Supreme Court precedent.

Plaintiffs’ “evidence is sufficient to establish at least a dispute of material fact as to whether merchants are direct purchasers of card-acceptance services,” Brodie said in ...