Antitrust

Issue: Monopolization

On July 14, 2014, the Court approved a settlement of $130 million plus prospective relief in an antitrust class action lawsuit brought by truck stops and other retail fueling facilities that paid percentage-based transaction fees to Comdata on proprietary card transactions using Comdata’s over-the-road fleet card.

The complaint challenged allegedly anticompetitive arrangements among Comdata, its parent company Ceridian LLC, and three national truck stop chains: defendants TravelCenters of America LLC and its wholly owned subsidiaries, Pilot Travel Centers LLC and its predecessor Pilot Corporation, and Love’s Travel Stops & Country Stores, Inc. The alleged misconduct insulated Comdata from competition, enhanced its market power, and led to independent truck stops’ paying artificially inflated transaction fees.

In addition to the $130 million payment, the settlement requires Comdata to change certain of its allegedly anticompetitive business practices which will promote competition among payment cards used by over-the-road fleets and truckers and lead to lower merchant fees for the independent truck stops.

Visit truckstopantitrustsettlement.com for further details concerning the settlement and contact information for the claims administrator. The deadline for submitting a claim was June 4, 2014.