The Supreme Court has blocked a class-action antitrust lawsuit that alleged that American Express forced merchants to accept its payments cards, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Merchants alleged that Amex used its dominant position to “compel” them to accept Amex cards, which have higher fees than those of competitors such as MasterCard and Visa. Amex maintained that merchants did not have to accept Amex if they were displeased with its fee structure.
In a 5-3 ruling by Antonin Scalia, the high court said that merchants who brought the lawsuit against Amex must arbitrate their claims. The Journal notes that the Supreme Court has made several decisions lately reaffirming “that litigants must abide by the arbitration agreements they signed,” rather than bring defendants to court.
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