St. Charles approves engagement to pursue share of $5.54 billion Visa/Mastercard settlement

The Saint Charles City Council on Feb. 3 voted to authorize a resolution to engage Sonenshein Group, LLC to represent the city in seeking recovery from a class-action settlement related to payment-card interchange fees charged by Visa and Mastercard.

City Administrator McGuire told the council the city has until Feb. 4 to engage the firm and file a claim; otherwise the city would receive no recovery from the current settlement. McGuire said the settlement is valued at $5,540,000,000 and that the engagement will be contingency based. "So they would recover 25% of whatever we recover," McGuire said, and added the city will need to provide historical records to determine applicable recovery and that staff time will be required to gather documents.

Supporters said joining the claim could produce a financial recovery for the city; no specific recovery estimate was available in the meeting. The council approved the resolution after a motion moved by Binder and seconded by Lancione, with a roll-call vote recorded as yes from council members present.

McGuire also said the claim arises from consolidated antitrust litigation alleging Visa and Mastercard set pricing structures for interchange and merchant-discount fees; the city is engaging outside counsel to work through the complex claims process. The resolution authorizes the city to execute a class action claim representative service engagement agreement with the named firm and to proceed with the filing process.

The council did not specify a projected recovery amount for the city or an estimated staff cost in the public discussion; the engagement is contingency-based, with the firm to receive 25% of any recovery the city obtains under the settlement.