MasterCard strongly disagrees with the majority opinion issued yesterday by a panel of the Second Circuit Court of Appeals upholding the grant of class certification in the merchant antitrust action. We agree with the well-reasoned dissent articulated by Judge Dennis Jacobs, the senior-most judge on the three-judge panel, and intend to seek reconsideration of this decision by the full Court of Appeals.
Judge Jacobs raised serious concerns about the decision based on both legal and policy grounds, noting that plaintiffs’ counsel, and not merchants, stand to benefit from utilization of the class action vehicle. In a compelling 34-page dissent, Judge Jacobs argued that the majority, in allowing the class to go forward, failed to adequately fulfill its obligation to review the trial court’s class action findings.
The decision in no way relates to the merits of the case. We remain confident that our position will prevail and that consumers will not be disadvantaged by the efforts of class action lawyers to impede the ability of cardholders to use their MasterCard cards wherever MasterCard is accepted.