On September 29th, Judge Brian Cogan of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, ruled against merchants who filed a 2026 lawsuit against Visa and Mastercard seeking damages associated with interchange fees paid since January 2019. He also denied a request by Visa and Mastercard for an injunction to have the plaintiff’s case dismissed. The plaintiffs have filed an appeal.
Background
On April 21st, Potayto‑Potahto, LLC, Dougicaban, Inc., and CAM‑OMO Inc., three New York based merchants, filed a lawsuit against Visa and Mastercard seeking damages associated with interchange fees paid since January 2019. A $5.54 billion settlement, which is currently being paid out to merchants, covers a 15-year period through early 2019. While the settlement agreement has language that protects Visa and Mastercard from similar claims until August 2028, the plaintiffs assert that Visa and Mastercard continued to engage in anticompetitive behavior despite the settlement and therefore should be liable for damages related to transactions after early 2019.
On June 16, 2026, Visa and Mastercard filed a motion asking the court to enforce the terms of the $5.54 billion 2019 anti-trust settlement against the merchant plaintiffs, arguing their claims are barred by the future-claims release in that settlement. They assert this suit is an attempted "end-run" around the existing settlement.
In his September 29th ruling against the merchant plaintiffs, Judge Cogan rejected their argument that the release improperly gave Visa and Mastercard immunity from future antitrust claims and found the release of future claims was permissible because those claims arose from the same underlying conduct covered by the original litigation. He also rejected the plaintiff’s argument that newer merchants were unfairly represented compared with merchants that were members of the class during the entire class period. The plaintiffs had argued newer merchants were not treated fairly because they were compensated for fewer years of harm but are prevented from suing for five years after the settlement final date.
Additionally Judge Cogan denied Visa and Mastercard’s request for an injunction compelling the dismissal of the plaintiff’s case noting that this case was one of the only suits, if not the only suit, of this nature. However, in the ruling the Judge stated that if there is an onslaught of lawsuits brought without regard for the scope of the future-release, the Court may consider granting injunctive relief.
The day after the ruling was handed down, a similar case was filed by The Pizza Standard, a California merchant. The new complaint alleges that Visa, Mastercard, and card issuing banks elevated interchange rates by creating a “web” of anticompetitive rules that disabled competitive market forces. Furthermore, it is alleged that Visa and Mastercard exploited the “web” of anticompetitive rules to inflate their card network fees.
As The Pizza Standard LLC first accepted credit cards after January 24, 2019, it is not a party to the $5.54 billion settlement established to compensate merchants who accepted Visa and Mastercard between 2004 and 2019. It asserts that it has suffered damages because the anticompetitive behavior continued after 2019 and seeks to represent similar merchants who suffered damages after 2019 but are not parties to the $5.54 billion settlement.
Both the Potayto-Potahto et. al case and the Pizza Standard case are related to a 2005 lawsuit that accused Visa, Mastercard, and the banks that issue their payment cards of violating antitrust laws and causing merchants to pay excessive fees. The issues that were not resolved by the $5.54 billion class action settlement, including a dispute over the rules Visa and Mastercard impose on merchants to accept their cards, are being addressed by a proposed $38 billion class action settlement announced in November 2025. In June 2026, Judge Brian Cogan granted preliminary approval for the settlement; the final approval hearing is scheduled for November 16th. For more information on the $38 billion settlement see: Judge Grants Preliminary Approval for $38B Visa and Mastercard Settlement.
Verisave’s Take
The Pizza Standard case has been assigned to Judge Cogan, the same Judge who ruled on the Potayto-Potahto et. al case, thus it seems likely he will once again find that the defendants are shielded by the future-claims release even though the group of merchants The Pizza Standard seeks to represent is different from the group of merchants that the Potayto-Potahto et. al case sought to represent. These cases are ones to watch.
