Canadian Retailer - Fall 2015 - 19

LEGAL NOTICE

If you accepted Visa or MasterCard credits cards as payment for goods or services after
-ARCHYOURRIGHTSCOULDBEAFFECTEDBYPROPOSEDNATIONALCLASSACTIONS
SETTLEMENTSWITH"ANKOF!MERICA#APITAL/NEAND#ITIGROUP
The Credit Card Actions
Class action lawsuits were commenced in British Columbia (the "BC Action"),
Alberta, Saskatchewan, Quebec and Ontario (collectively, the "Credit Card Actions")
against Visa Canada Corporation ("Visa"), MasterCard International Incorporated
("MasterCard") and certain banks which issue credit cards ("Issuing Banks") alleging
each of Visa and MasterCard conspired with their issuing banks and Acquirers in
setting the amount of interchange fees and imposing rules restricting merchants' ability
to surcharge or refuse higher cost Visa and MasterCard credit cards ("Acquirer" is an
organization or person that entered into a contract with a merchant for the provision of
Visa Credit Card or MasterCard Credit Card services and charging Merchant Discount
Fees, including Interchange fees in Canada). On March 27, 2014, the BC Action was
certiﬁed as a class proceeding as against all defendants. This decision is currently
under appeal.

The Settlements
Although Bank of America Corporation and BofA Canada Bank, formerly MBNA
Canada Bank, afﬁliate of Bank of America Corporation (collectively, "BofA"), Capital
One Bank (Canada Branch) and Capital One Financial Corporation (collectively,
"Capital One") and Citigroup Inc. ("Citigroup") deny liability, they have each
reached national settlements with the plaintiffs (respectively, the "BofA Settlement",
the "Capital One Settlement", and the "Citigroup Settlement", or collectively,
the "Settlements"), subject to approval of the courts in British Columbia, Alberta,
Saskatchewan, Quebec and Ontario (the "Courts"). BofA will pay CAD $7,750,000,
Capital One will pay $4,250,000 and Citigroup will pay $1,630,000 (collectively, the
"Settlement Amounts") for the beneﬁt of the Settlement Class Members (see below)
and provide cooperation that will assist with prosecuting the ongoing actions against
the non-settling defendants in exchange for a full release of claims against them and
their related entities.
If any of the Settlements are approved, the Class Lawyers will ask the Courts
to approve the deduction of certain amounts (collectively, the "Court Approved
Expenses") from the Settlement Amounts, including costs incurred to distribute this
notice and process opt-out requests, comments and objections (see below), a counsel
fee of up to 25% of the recovered amounts, and disbursements.
As the Credit Card Actions will continue as against the other defendants, it is proposed
that the amounts remaining from the Settlement Amounts after deduction of all Court
Approved Expenses be held in trust for Settlement Class Members pending receipt
of further settlements or awards that may justify a distribution effort, or conclusion
of the Credit Card Actions. At such time, a distribution protocol will be created and
submitted to the Courts for approval, and further notice will be provided to Settlement
Class Members. If you would like to receive direct notice of any distribution efforts,
please register at www.creditcardsettlements.ca , or contact one of the Class Lawyers
listed below.

Certiﬁcation/Authorization as Class Proceedings
for Settlement Purposes
Separate and apart from the certiﬁcation of the BC Action against all defendants, in
order to implement the Settlements, the Courts have certiﬁed/authorized all of the
Credit Card Actions as class proceedings against BofA, Capital One and Citigroup for
settlement purposes only.

Who Are The Settlement Class Members?
You are a Settlement Class Member if you are a BofA Settlement Class Member, a
Capital One Settlement Class Member and/or a Citigroup Settlement Class Member.
You are also a BofA Settlement Class Member, a Capital One Settlement Class Member
and a Citigroup Settlement Class Member if you accept or accepted MasterCard credit
cards as payment for goods or services and incurred merchant discount fees, including
interchange fees, in Canada since March 23, 2001.
You are a BofA Settlement Class Member and a Citigroup Settlement Class Member if
you accept or accepted Visa credit cards as payment for goods or services and incurred
merchant discount fees, including interchange fees, in Canada since March 23, 2001.
All Settlement Class Members are affected by this notice, whether or not they have a
claim or potential claim against BofA, Capital One or Citigroup.

Settlement Approval Hearings
Hearings to consider approval of the Settlements, a counsel fee of up to 25% of
the recovered amounts, and disbursements payable from the Settlement Amounts
will be heard on November 9, 2015 at 10 a.m. (British Columbia Supreme Court,
Vancouver), November 10, 2015 at 10 a.m. (Court of Queen's Bench of Alberta,
Edmonton), November 12 at 10 a.m. (Court of Queen's Bench for Saskatchewan,
Regina), November 23, 2015 at 2:15 p.m. (Quebec Superior Court, Montreal) and
November 19 at 10 a.m. (Ontario Superior Court of Justice, Toronto). Anyone can
attend the hearings, but if you wish to speak to the Court, please advise the Opt-Out
Administrator (Epiq Systems)*.

If you wish to provide written comment on or objection to any of the Settlements, you
must do so by delivering same to the Opt-Out Administrator* by November 2, 2015.
Comments or objections will be provided to the Court for consideration in whether to
approve or reject the Settlements.

Participating in the Settlements or the Credit Card Actions
If you fall within the Settlement Class, including the Quebec Settlement Class (deﬁned
below), and wish to participate in the Settlements and in the continuing Credit Card
Actions, you do not need to do anything at this time.

Opting Out of the Class Proceedings
The deadline to opt out of the Settlements or the class actions is November 4, 2015.

Consequences of Opting Out
By opting out, you are choosing:
1. not to take part in any of the Settlements,
2. not to participate in the ongoing prosecution of the Credit Card Class Actions
against the other defendants, AND
3. not to participate in any future settlements reached in the Credit Card
Class Actions.
Settlement Class Members who opt out (including Quebec Settlement Class Members)
will not be bound by any of the Settlements or the releases in the Settlements, but
will also not be entitled to share in any of the proceeds that may become available
to merchants as part of the Settlements. Settlement Class Members who opt out
(including Quebec Settlement Class Members) will also not be entitled to participate
in the continued prosecution of the Credit Card Class Actions or future settlements.

Consequences of Not Opting Out
BECAUSE OF DIFFERENCES IN THE ORDERS MADE BY THE COURTS, THE
CONSEQUENCES OF NOT OPTING OUT VARY DEPENDING ON WHETHER
YOU ARE A QUEBEC SETTLEMENT CLASS MEMBER (A SUBGROUP OF
THE SETTLEMENT CLASS) OR NOT.
You are a Quebec Settlement Class Member if you are a Quebec resident person
who accepted Visa and/or MasterCard credit cards as payment for goods or services
and incurred merchant discount fees, including interchange fees, in Canada, since
March 23, 2001. Any legal persons established for a private interest, partnership or
association which at any time between December 17, 2009 and December 17, 2010
had under its direction or control more than 50 persons bound to it by contract of
employment are not Quebec Settlement Class Members.
a) Quebec Settlement Class Members
Quebec Settlement Class Members who do not opt out will be bound by the
Settlements and the releases in them, and will be entitled to share in any of the
proceeds that may become available to merchants as part of the Settlements . They will
have an opportunity to opt out of the ongoing litigation against the other defendants
if and when such litigation is authorized as a class action against some or all of those
remaining defendants.
b) All Other Settlement Class Members
For all other Settlement Class Members, the election not to opt out also operates in
relation to future settlements and the ongoing litigation against the remaining defendants.
Settlement Class Members who are not Quebec Settlement Class Members who do not
opt out will be bound by the Settlements and the releases in them, and will be entitled
to share in any of the proceeds that may become available to merchants as part of the
Settlements and the ongoing litigation against the other defendants. They will not have
a further opportunity to opt out of the ongoing litigation against the other defendants
if and when such litigation is authorized as a class action against some or all of those
remaining defendants.

*

*

*

FOR MORE INFORMATION on the status of the approval hearings or on how to
opt out of the Credit Card Actions, comment or object to any of the Settlements, or
to view the Settlements and a list of other deﬁnitions that apply to this Notice, visit
www.creditcardsettlements.ca, which will be periodically updated with information
on the Settlements approval process and the Credit Card Actions.
*For communications with the Opt-Out Administrator, Epiq Systems call
(877) 283-6548, email info@CreditCardSettlements.ca, fax (844) 772-0145 or write
to Canadian Interchange, PO Box 2312, 349 W Georgia St., Vancouver, BC V6B 1Y0.
CLASS LAWYERS can be reached at lawyer@CreditCardSettlements.ca and are:
 Branch MacMaster LLP at (604) 654-2999 (Luciana Brasil)
 Camp Fiorante Mathews Mogerman at (604) 689-7555 (David Jones)
 Consumer Law Group (for Quebec residents) at 1-888-909-7863 x2
(Jeff Orenstein)
This notice is approved by the Courts.

WWW#REDIT#ARD3ETTLEMENTSCAs
http://www.creditcardsettlements.ca http://www.creditcardsettlements.ca
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Canadian Retailer - Fall 2015
