Dennis Stewart of Gustafson Gluek Recognized by the American Antitrust Institute for Outstanding Antitrust Litigation Achievement in Private Law Practice
Gustafson Gluek PLLC congratulates Dennis Stewart and his co-counsel in the In re Payment Card Interchange Fee and Merchant Discount Antitrust Litigation who are being recognized by the American Antitrust Institute as Honorees in the category of Outstanding Antitrust Litigation Achievement in Private Law Practice.
In 2005, the team filed a complaint on behalf of merchants challenging the excessive fees charged by Visa, Mastercard, and other major credit card issuers under the Sherman Act. The complaint alleged that the Defendants harmed competition and charged merchants supracompetitive fees by creating unlawful contracts and rules and by engaging in various antitrust conspiracies.
After a lengthy, arduous litigation, the In re Payment Card Interchange Fee and Merchant Discount Antitrust Litigation team successfully obtained a substantial settlement for their clients, a class of over 12 million merchants and trade associations. The district court complimented the work of class counsel, noting:
“Class counsel has without question done a tremendous job in litigating this case. They represent some of the best plaintiff-side antitrust groups in the country, and the size and skill of the defense they litigated against cannot be overstated. They have also demonstrated the utmost professionalism despite the demands of the extreme perseverance that this case has required[.]”
In re Payment Card Interchange Fee and Merchant Discount Antitrust Litigation, 05-MD-1720 (MKB) (JO), 2019 WL 6888488, at *15 (E.D.N.Y. Dec. 16, 2019).
On March 15, 2023, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit unanimously upheld the district court’s order giving final approval of a multi-billion dollar settlement.
Dennis Stewart of Gustafson Gluek led the case, alongside his co-counsel from Robins Kaplan LLP, Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP, Berger Montague, and Freedman Boyd Hollander & Goldberg PA.
