On June 13, the U.S. District Court for the District of North Dakota received a motion from two amici curiae seeking leave to participate in oral arguments scheduled for July 23 on the parties’ cross motions for summary judgment. The Fed as defendant took no position on the motion while the plaintiff opposed it. As previously covered by InfoBytes, the amici curiae entered this case based on the impacts on Regulation II, which the Fed promulgated to regulate interchange fees received by debit card issuing banks.

Regulation II reduced the interchange fees that debit-card issuers may receive, and the plaintiff’s lawsuit seeks a ruling that would require the Fed to lower those fees even further. An amici party requested leave to participate in oral argument so the court could hear the perspective of directly regulated parties, noting that their interests are not fully represented by either side and that precedent from similar litigation supports their participation.