b'Marketer Member News Rules & Regulations MARKETER MEMBERUS Court of Appeals Upholds NewsApproval of Swipe Fee SettlementMarch 22, 2023The United States Courtof Appeals for the at branded sites) are eligible, that the branded Second Circuit upheld the lower courts approval suppliers have already been paid in separate of the $5.6 billion settlement in the Visa/Mastercardsettlements, and that their wholesaler and swipe fee litigation. The approval of the settlementretailer franchisees are ineligible as indirect was challenged by the Energy Marketers of Americapayers of credit card fees. Branded market-(EMA) and other associations, as well as scores ofers, on the other hand, contend that they branded wholesalers and retailers of gasoline and are the only entities that accepted the cards diesel fuel. EMA and the other challengers arguedand, thus, the only eligible recipients of that the settlement should not have been approvedsettlement funds based on transactions at until a decision was made as to whether the tens oftheir sites. Now that the case has been thousands of branded motor fuel wholesalers andremanded back to the lower court, retailers were eligible to receive settlement funds. EMA expects the court to appoint EMA argued that the US District Court should havea master in due course. EMA decided whether branded marketers would be entitledGeneral Counsel will advise to receive any settlement funds before marketers hadmarketers of the mastersto choose whether to remain in the settlement classappointment when itor to opt out of the class to challenge the settlement.occurs. EMA will also Many branded marketers chose to remain in thecontinue to press the settlement class, thus giving up their right to issue on behalf of challenge the settlement, even though their abilitybranded market-to share in the settlement proceeds has not yet beeners by seeking decided. The decision on this issue will be decidedpermission by a special master appointed by the court, who willto weigh decide whether major oil companies or their brandedin on wholesalers and retailers will be the ones entitledthis to funds based on sales of gasoline at branded sites. EMA also asked the Court of Appeals to preempt a decision by the court-appointed master by deciding now that branded marketers are eligible to receive the funds. The Court of Appeals declined, how-ever, to make that determination, and its decision contributed to the uncertainty that now exists as to the fate of branded marketer claims against the settlement fund.As matters now stand, the lower court will appoint a special master to deter-mine whether branded jobbers and retailers will be eligible. Visa and Mastercard contend that only branded refiners (i.e., those who process the credit card transactions made WPMA News / Post WPMAEXPO 202339'