East Texas Suit Targets Visa, MasterCard

MARSHALL � More than 100 major companies are suing Visa and MasterCard in federal court in Marshall. The list of plaintiffs includes TXU Energy, Wal-mart, Delta Airlines, and dozens of other big firms which claim the credit card companies are charging excessive fees. The issue centers on �interchange fees� a business has to pay each time a customer uses a credit card. The lawsuit also asks the federal court to let the companies opt out of a related settlement in a class-action case last year. The city of Houston and Harris County have also joined the lawsuit.