Supreme Court Decides For Plaintiff in American Needle v NFL

"Today's Supreme Court ruling on American Needle v. NFL is the first pro-plaintiff decision from the Supreme Court in almost 20 years, and it was unanimous. We're happy to see that the Court could look beyond creative corporate structuring, to see how agreements among competitors actually affect competition and consumers," said K. Craig Wildfang and Ryan W. Marth, trial attorneys with Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi L.L.P., who on behalf of their merchant-trade-association clients in MDL 1720 submitted an amicus brief to the Court urging reversal. Mr. Wildfang currently serves as lead counsel for Plaintiff Class in In re Payment Card Interchange Fee and Merchant Discount Antitrust Litigation (MDL 1720). He and Mr. Marth represent a class of all merchants in the United States who accept Visa or MasterCard payment cards against Visa, MasterCard and the nation's largest banks. Mr. Marth has spoken on this case and authored a summary, which can be viewed at http://www.rkmc.com/American-Needle-v-NFL-The-Supreme-Court-Stops-NFL's-Drive-for-Antitrust-Immunity.htm. [05/24/2010]