September 14, 2018
Marchbanks Truck Service Inc. v. Comdata Network, Inc. – Liability
A class of approximately 6,500 independent truck stops alleged that Comdata Inc., the leading trucker fleet payment card issuer, engaged in anticompetitive conduct that caused independent truck stops to pay artificially inflated transaction fees. Plaintiffs alleged that Comdata imposed anticompetitive anti-steering provisions in its agreements with independent truck stops, and that three national truck stop chain defendants agreed not to compete with Comdata by issuing their own fleet cards. Dr. Singer provided expert testimony on the causal economic mechanisms linking Comdata’s conduct and the anticompetitive harms alleged by plaintiffs. Dr. Caves developed, supervised, and directed the economic modeling and analysis establishing the theoretical and empirical basis for anticompetitive harm.
A settlement of $130 million, plus prospective relief to promote competition among payment cards, was reached in 2014. The Court described the settlement as “substantial, both in absolute terms, and when assessed in light of the risks of establishing liability and damages in this case.”