Swipe-Fee Settlement Objectors Spared Contempt Finding

U.S. District Judge John Gleeson in Brooklyn, New York, today said he would “give the benefit of the doubt” to trade associations opposing the agreement and told them they should better police the websites for misstatements.

“I think there’s a powerful incentive for the objectors to be sure they’re not basing their argument on ground that’s not so firm,” Gleeson said.

Gleeson said on April 11 that the sites contained “bad information” that may have persuaded some merchants to drop out of the settlement and he ordered the groups to make corrections. One of the sites, Merchantsobject.com, continued to “obfuscate” key points as of April 24, the judge said in a written order that day.