MasterCard and Visa vs. Discover - who will win?

After a successful trial ended with triumph of AmEx, Discover decided to file a similar suit to the court claming that due to Visa Inc. and MasterCard Inc. it has lost its business. However, Judge Barbara S. Jones of U.S. District Court in Manhattan had another point of view and has rejected Discover’s assertion of an inter-association conspiracy by Visa and MasterCard. Though the court has recognized the intense competition between MasterCard and Visa as well. Finally, the judge has dismissed the debit-related claims of Discover against MasterCard.

However, Discover wasn’t upset much: “We welcome the decision by Judge Jones granting our motion for summary judgment on the core issues of the case and denying the most significant motions by the defendants. Judge Jones’ decision will prevent the defendants from relitigating her prior rulings, which declared that the anti-competitive and anti-consumer rules of Visa and MasterCard violated federal antitrust laws and harmed Discover.”

The defendants also were pleased. "MasterCard Worldwide said today it is pleased that Judge Barbara S. Jones narrowed the scope of Discover’s antitrust case against MasterCard by granting certain aspects of MasterCard’s summary judgment motion," commented Mastercard.

"As a consequence of these summary judgment rulings, Discover cannot challenge the legality of the agreements Visa has signed with its debit issuance partners. As such, it is unlikely the Discover litigation will have a significant impact on Visa's ongoing business operations," said Visa. 

Trial had been appointed on Sept. 9 but is now scheduled for Oct. 14.