Judge Dismisses Apple, Visa, Mastercard Antitrust Suit

A U.S. federal judge has dismissed an antitrust lawsuit brought by Mirage Wine & Spirits and other businesses against Apple, Visa, and Mastercard, which accused the companies of conspiring to suppress competition and inflate merchant transaction fees. The lawsuit claimed that Visa and Mastercard paid Apple a significant portion of transaction fees to dissuade Apple from launching its own payment network, thus maintaining high merchant fees. Judge David Dugan found that the plaintiffs' evidence was merely circumstantial and did not establish that Apple planned to compete directly with card networks. Despite dismissing the case, the judge allowed the plaintiffs 30 days to amend and refile their complaint. All three companies denied wrongdoing, with Apple and Visa declining to comment and Mastercard not immediately responding. The case underscores the difficulties plaintiffs face in proving antitrust claims within the complex digital payments market.