Milberg avoids sanctions despite filing fake claims in Visa and Mastercard settlement
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Plaintiffs law firm Milberg Coleman Bryson Phillips Grossman will not face sanctions after submitting fake claims as part of a billion-dollar settlement involving Visa and Mastercard, a federal magistrate judge ruled on Saturday.
In his July 13 opinion, U.S. Magistrate Judge Joseph Marutollo in the Eastern District of New York held that while the court had authority to punish Milberg for its actions in the case, it was “unnecessary at this time.” But Marutollo noted the court could issue sanctions against Milberg if it became necessary in the future.
In 2018, Visa and Mastercard agreed to a $5.6 billion settlement to resolve claims from more than 12 million merchants who alleged they overpaid credit and debit card fees, according to Reuters, which reported on the decision. In seeking part of the fund for a group of class members, Milberg submitted paperwork that was later found to be fraudulent.
According to the opinion, Milberg submitted 116 fake claims to class administrator Epiq Systems. The law firm blamed a “third-party referral source” and said while it “could have done a better job of screening the would-be clients’ information,” its mistakes did not amount to bad faith or a need for sanctions.
Milberg agreed to pay $25,000 to cover Epiq’s costs related to handling the fake submissions and cooperate with any law enforcement investigation into the referral source.
According to Reuters, the firm did not respond to a request for comment.
