Supreme Court Grants Review of Antitrust Suit Against JP Morgan

Skadden secured a grant of certiorari from the U.S. Supreme Court in an antitrust case alleging a conspiracy to inflate ATM surcharge fees. The class action alleges that JP Morgan, Wells Fargo and Bank of America, as members of Visa's and MasterCard's ATM networks, conspired with the networks to "fix" those fees. Skadden served as the counsel of record on the petition seeking certiorari review after the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia reversed the district court's dismissal of the case. The specific question presented by the petition is whether allegations that members of a business association agreed to adhere to the association's rules and possess governance rights in the association are sufficient to plead the element of conspiracy in violation of Section 1 of the Sherman Act. The Supreme Court is set to hear the case during its October 2016 term.