A federal appeals court on Wednesday upheld a $5.6 billion antitrust class-action settlement with more than 12 million retailers that accused Visa Inc. and MasterCard Inc. of improperly fixing credit and debit card fees, Reuters reported. The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan rejected claims that a class action should not have been certified because of confusion over who deserved compensation, and that the $523 million of legal fees awarded to the retailers' lawyers was too high. Among the objectors were a group of gas station operators for oil companies such as Chevron and Shell. The operators and the companies both claimed to have been injured after accepting Visa and MasterCard for gas sales. Judge Dennis Jacobs said that although their dispute may need to be resolved in court, it was "no reason" to delay payouts to other class members.
