A group of 24 AGs led by Montana AG Austin Knudsen and Tennessee AG Jonathan Skrmetti sent a letter to the CEOs of three major credit card companies, American Express, MasterCard, and Visa, expressing their concerns about a...more
After more than half a year without a leader, the WTO is poised to welcome its “first woman and first African” to the role in the form of Nigerian economist and former finance minister Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. ...more
Paul Singer and the Elliott Mgmt crew have a new target in their sights: Twitter’s founder and CEO, Jack Dorsey. Singer’s Elliott fund has amassed a “significant stake” in the company—perhaps as much as a billion—and is...more
In a dispute involving fraudulent charges, the District of Connecticut required American Express and the cardmember to resolve their issue in arbitration, pursuant to the cardmember agreement, as amended. AmEx provided notice...more
On June 25, 2018, the Supreme Court held that American Express Co.’s “non-discrimination” rules that prevented merchants from steering customers to other credit card brands do not violate the federal antitrust laws....more
CEO Dara Khosrowshahi is undoubtedly breathing a sigh of relief on news out of the UK yesterday that Uber will regain its taxi license in London—a “crucial victory for efforts by its new chief executive to revamp the...more
The 2d Circuit has upheld by a 2-1 margin the insider-trading conviction of former SAC Capital Advisors portfolio manager Mathew Martoma. Martoma’s counsel had challenged the propriety of the jury instructions in light of the...more
Overtime Rules Enjoined Nationwide - In State of Nev. v. U.S. Dep't of Labor Case No. 4:16-cv-00731-ALM, 2016 WL 6879615 (E.D. Tex. Nov. 22, 2016), a Texas district court enjoined nationwide the Department of Labor's...more
The opinion could provide useful guidance for participants in two-sided markets, like the credit card industry and the health care industry, where separate interests of insurers and patients are often implicated by the same...more
The U.S. Department of Justice's loss to American Express sends a message to health care providers: Steering, tiering, exclusive dealing and other contractual arrangements that appear to suppress competition in one part of...more
Last week the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit issued a major win for American Express in a landmark decision in United States v. American Express Co. In that case the government filed an antitrust suit against...more
PLA today posts a decision from the Second Circuit enforcing American Express’s contractual prohibition against steering (see United States v. American Express Company). Reversing a district court opinion that barred these...more
The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, a highly influential appellate court sitting in New York, on September 26 issued a unanimous ruling with major implications for antitrust and unfair competition laws,...more
We learned yesterday that Twitter’s shopping itself around for a buyer. It’s facing one big complication, though—the sizeable amount of stock Twitter has doled out to its employees over the years. Last year, for example,...more
In recent years, federal antitrust enforcers and businesses that accept payment cards have been waging a slow war against payment card fees and the card network rules that protect them. The payment card industry’s antitrust...more
With the October 1, 2015 liability shift deadline looming, merchants who have not yet made the change continue to evaluate the cost of accepting EMV cards versus the liability that will shift from the issuer to the merchant...more
There has been much fanfare surrounding the reestablishment of diplomatic relations with Cuba, starting with President Obama’s announcement of the resumption of bilateral relations, and followed by the formal establishment of...more
On Tuesday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit rejected American Express Co.’s request to stay an injunction ordered by a judge in the Eastern District of New York which prevented Amex from imposing certain...more
Last Thursday, American Express appealed the District Court for the Eastern District of New York’s February ruling that its anti-steering rules violated Section 1 of the Sherman Act. The court entered a permanent injunction...more
On February 18, 2015, American Express lost its court battle with the Department of Justice's Antitrust Division over the card's Non-Discrimination Provisions ("NDPs"), which prohibited merchants from steering customers to...more
American Express has rules that prohibit merchants from discriminating against American Express cards in favor of those issued by other card networks. On February 18, 2015, following a seven-week trial, Judge Garaufis in the...more
Why it matters - The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released a proposed rule that Director Richard Cordray said would “fill key gaps” for consumers regarding prepaid products. The 870-page proposal would...more
As part of its Project Catalyst, the CFPB’s initiative for facilitating innovation in consumer-friendly financial products and services, the CFPB has announced a new research pilot using insights from behavioral economics and...more
Preventing the unauthorized access to and fraudulent use of credit and debit cards has been a high priority of the payment card industry for years. As the threat environment evolves, so too do the applicable data security...more
The long trial in United States v. American Express has come to an end: on September 18, 2014, the parties exchanged post-trial briefing and on October 9, 2014, the court held oral argument. News reports suggest that the...more