Marchbanks Truck Service Inc. v. Comdata Network, Inc. – Antitrust Settlement

Berger Montague served as co-lead counsel and obtained settlements totaling $130 million for a class of 6,500 independent truck stops and other retail fueling facilities in this antitrust lawsuit. The settlement also included valuable prospective relief that rolled back much of the conduct that the plaintiffs challenged in the lawsuit as anticompetitive. The case was litigated in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

Led by Eric L. Cramer and Andrew C. Curley of Berger Montague, the plaintiffs alleged that Comdata, Inc. (“Comdata”) had imposed anticompetitive anti-steering provisions in its agreements with truck stops that artificially inflated the fees these merchants paid when accepting the Comdata fleet card from truckers for payment. The lawsuit further alleged that Comdata and its parent company, Ceridian, LLC, had engaged in anticompetitive agreements with TravelCenters of America LLC, Pilot Travel Centers LLC, and Love’s Travel Stops & Country Stores, Inc., in which the chains agreed not to compete with Comdata’s Fleet Card in exchange for Comdata providing these chains with a massive transaction fee advantage. The lawsuit alleged that this conduct, taken together, insulated Comdata from competition, enhanced its market power, and led to independent truck stops paying artificially inflated transaction fees.

The district court described the $130 million settlement as “substantial, both in absolute terms, and when assessed in light of the risks of establishing liability and damages in this case.” In addition to the $130 million settlement payment, the prospective relief portion of the settlement involved meaningful and enforceable commitments by Comdata to modify or not enforce those portions of its contracts that the plaintiffs challenged as anticompetitive.

If you or your company has been harmed by anticompetitive conduct or any conduct that you believe violates the antitrust laws, please contact Berger Montague.

About Berger Montague

Berger Montague is a national law firm focusing on complex civil litigation in federal and state courts throughout the United States. For over half a century, Berger Montague has played lead roles in consequential, precedent-setting cases and has recovered over $50 billion for its clients and the classes they have represented. Berger Montague is headquartered in Philadelphia and has offices in Chicago, Minneapolis, San Diego, San Francisco, Toronto, and Washington, D.C.