On January 30, the United States filed an amicus brief in the U.S. Supreme Court supporting the Respondents in American Express Company v. Italian Colors Restaurant, No. 12-133, an extremely important case involving the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA).  As described in more detail in our legal alert issued soon after the Supreme Court agreed to hear the case, the Second Circuit had refused to enforce the class action waiver in American Express’ arbitration agreement with merchants who accept its cards on the basis that the waiver would effectively preclude the plaintiffs from prosecuting their federal antitrust claims. … Continue Reading

In another demonstration of aggressive enforcement, the CFPB, on October 1, announced that it had settled its enforcement actions against various American Express entities alleging a wide range of compliance violations.  

The settlement requires American Express Bank, FSB and American Express Centurion Bank to make restitution payments totaling $85 million.  In addition, the banks, their holding company, and its parent company are required to pay a total of $27.5 million in civil monetary penalties to the CFPB, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Federal Reserve Board and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.… Continue Reading