The Supreme Court has rejected a bid to revive a $7.25 billion antitrust settlement between retailers and card companies Visa Inc. and Mastercard Inc. that had been tossed out by a lower court, according to Reuters.
Retailers argued that the credit card companies fixed credit and debit card fees. The previously agreed-to settlement had been intended to resolve claims that merchants were overcharged on interchange fees when shoppers used credit or debit cards, and were stopped from directing customers toward cheaper payment options.
The settlement had been the largest such all-cash agreement in the U.S., although its value shrank to about $5.7 billion after about 8,000 retailers opted out.
Chief Justice John Roberts and Associate Justice Samuel Alito declined to participate in the consideration.