Supreme Court won’t restore $7.25B swipe fees settlement

WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court will not restore a $7.25 billion settlement between merchants and Visa Inc. and MasterCard Inc. over credit card transaction fees.

The justices did not comment Monday in leaving place a ruling by the federal appeals court in New York that tossed out the settlement in a lawsuit that began in 2005.

A group of 19 merchants and trade groups claimed in the lawsuit that Visa and MasterCard conspired to fix fees charged to stores for handling credit card payments.

A federal judge approved a settlement in 2013, but some retailers and consumer groups objected.

The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the proposed settlement was unfair to merchants that wouldn’t have received any money.