The U.K.’s largest ever damages claim was filed yesterday in the first step of a landmark class action. The 14 billion pound ($18.6 billion) claim was brought against MasterCard on behalf of 46 million British debit and credit card holders over the company’s charging of illegal payment fees. It is the first major U.S.-style class action in the English courts following the U.K.’s introduction of new legislation allowing “opt out” collective damages claims last year.
It’s a fascinating case. MasterCard, which has hired magic circle firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, has over the past decade been embroiled in a series of legal battles over the level of so-called “interchange” fees it charged businesses on transactions between 1992 and 2007, which were found by European authorities to be unlawfully high. The plaintiffs, represented by Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, argue that part of the cost of these fees were passed on to consumers in the form of increased prices for goods and services.
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