WESTLAKE, Ohio -- An April 9 court ruling has led payment-solutions provider Comdata Inc. to reimburse TravelCenters of America LLC (TA) $10.7 million for legal costs and interest related to a lawsuit over card processing fees.
The Westlake, Ohio-based retailer brought the litigation against Comdata on Nov. 30, 2016, in response to communications from Comdata alleging that TA had breached agreements that require Comdata to process customer transactions using Comdata cards at set fees through Jan. 2, 2022. Comdata, Brentwood, Tenn., said that it was no longer bound by this contract and raised the processing fees on Feb. 1, 2017. TA has estimated that the excess fees being charged by Comdata have cost TA about $900,000 per month.
TA won its litigation against Comdata Inc. on Sept. 11, 2017. The ruling, made by the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware, ordered Comdata to honor TA's contract terms and to reimburse TA for all excess amounts charged to TA since Feb. 1, 2017, plus interest. The decision to require Comdata to pay TA’s legal fees was made April 9, 2018, also by the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware. Comdata has 30 days from the date of the order to file a notice of appeal for this litigation.
TA was represented by the Boston office of Ropes & Gray LLP and the Wilmington, Del., office of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP.
TA’s North American business includes travel centers in 43 states and in Canada, stand-alone convenience stores in 11 states and stand-alone restaurants in 13 states. The company ranked No. 19 on CSP's 2017 Top 202 list of the largest chains in the United States.
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