On September 26, 2016, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit reversed a district court’s ruling in favor of the United States Department of Justice which found that American Express violated antitrust laws through its anti-steering rules. The Second Circuit instructed the district court to render judgment in favor of American Express.
The United States Department of Justice made the highly unusual decision to not pursue the appeal to the United States Supreme Court. However, the eleven states that brought suit alongside the Department of Justice did seek review. On October 16, 2017 the United States Supreme Court issued its order granting the states’ petition for certiorari.
Although there is certainly no guarantee that the Supreme Court will overturn the Second Circuit’s decision in favor of American Express, it is certainly a positive sign for merchants that the high court accepted the case for consideration. The NP team continues to lend its full support to advancing the cause of their broad consortium of corporate clients in this matter.