Swipe Fee Accord Objectors Seek Signs of Attorney Collusion
This article is for subscribers only.
Opponents of Visa Inc.’s and MasterCard Inc.’s $5.7 billion settlement with merchants over fees want access to documents that may have been disclosed to a lawyer facing federal charges in a fraud scheme unrelated to the credit-card litigation.
Lawyers for Home Depot U.S.A. Inc., Target Corp., and other major retailers, who have argued against the accord, said the disclosure of materials by Gary Friedman, the plaintiffs’ attorney, raises questions about the fairness of the negotiations. Keila Ravelo, the lawyer who got the documents and represented MasterCard, was charged in December by federal prosecutors in New Jersey.