Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-azd-2_12-cv-00015/USCOURTS-azd-2_12-cv-00015-2/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 190
Nature of Suit: Other Contract Actions
Cause of Action: 28:1332 Diversity-Declaratory Judgment

---

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

WO

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE DISTRICT OF ARIZONA

Bank of America, N.A.,

 Plaintiff,

vs.

POST Integrations, Inc, et al.,

 Defendants.

)

)

)

)

)

)

)

)

)

)

)

No. CV-12-00015-PHX-PGR 

 ORDER

 

 

Pending before the Court is plaintiff Bank of America, N.A.’s Motion for Partial

Reconsideration of Order Granting Summary Judgment (Doc. 36), filed pursuant to

Fed.R.Civ.P. 59(e). Having considered the parties’ memoranda and their attached

exhibits, the Court finds that the motion should be granted in part and denied in part.

A. Transfer of BINs/ICAs

In paragraph (4) of the order portion of its summary judgment order (Doc.

31), the Court, adopting the defendants’ position, in part ordered that 

[e]ffective as of June 30, 2013, Bank of America, N.A.

shall relinquish all rights to the Bank Identification

Numbers (BINs) and Interstate Card Associations (ICAs)

of Post Integrations, Inc. and Ebocom L.L.C., and shall, as

soon as practical after June 30, 2013, transfer such BINs

and ICAs to Post Integrations, Inc. and Ebocom L.L.C.

Upon such transfer, Bank of America, N.A. shall have no

further duties, responsibilities, or rights with respect to

such BINs and ICAs.

Case 2:12-cv-00015-PGR Document 42 Filed 06/03/13 Page 1 of 4
1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

- 2 -

The plaintiff argues that the Court must modify the above paragraph in its

summary judgment order by rescinding the relinquishment and transfer requirements

on the ground that compliance is not possible because the plaintiff has no legal right

or ability under Visa’s and MasterCard’s rules and regulations to unilaterally transfer

BINs or ICAs to the defendants since it does not own or control them; it further

argues that the inclusion of these requirements was improper because this relief was

not pled, briefed, or argued by the parties as the defendants only included them in

their proposed form of order submitted in connection with oral argument on the

plaintiff’s summary judgment motion.

The defendants’ position is that they requested the relinquishment and

transfer language in order to keep the plaintiff from impeding or disrupting POST

Integrations’ relationship with its own merchants since the BINs and ICAs are the

identifying means that connect POST and its merchants’ transactions. The

defendants contend that if the plaintiff is allowed to have control of the BIN and ICA

numbers then it could effectively do what it wants with POST’s merchants, even

potentially directing Visa and MasterCard to direct the transactions of POST’s

merchants away from POST and to the plaintiff’s affiliated credit card processor.

The Court is persuaded by the evidence submitted by the plaintiff that the

Court cannot require the plaintiff to transfer the BINs and ICAs to the defendants and

will therefore rescind that portion of the summary judgment order. The Court,

however, will adopt the defendants’ request that the Court reaffirm its previous order

requiring the plaintiff to relinquish all rights to the defendants’ BINs and ICAs, and

the defendants’ request that the plaintiff be ordered not to use, transfer, or interfere

with those numbers without a joint directive from Visa and POST and a joint directive

from MasterCard and POST.

Case 2:12-cv-00015-PGR Document 42 Filed 06/03/13 Page 2 of 4
1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

- 3 -

B. Notice Language

The Court’s summary judgment order also required POST to provide written

notice to its merchant clients that the plaintiff would no longer be POST’s BIN

sponsor as of June 30, 2013, and that all of the plaintiff’s obligations to them would

cease as of that date. The plaintiff argues that the Court should revise its required

notification language to include a statement warning the merchants that their credit

card processing services will be disrupted if the defendants fail to timely obtain a

new bank sponsor. 

The Court declines to do so. The Court not only considered and specifically

rejected the plaintiff’s proposed language in its summary judgment order, POST sent

out the notification to its merchant clients in conformance with the summary

judgment order prior to the time the reconsideration motion was filed. Neither the

plaintiff’s new legal arguments, which could have been raised at the summary

judgment hearing, nor its supplemental evidence persuade the Court that an

additional, different notification is necessary. While the Court does not know

whether the defendants will obtain a new bank sponsor by June 30, 2013, or

specifically what will happen if a new sponsor is not timely obtained, it is not

convinced from the record before it that the plaintiff will suffer any significant harm

if a new sponsor is not timely obtained. Even if the Court accepts the plaintiff’s

contention that the reason it wants its proposed warning given to the merchant

clients is to keep it from being negatively impacted, whether reputationally or legally,

should the defendants fail to timely obtain a new bank sponsor, the plaintiff’s

expressed concern, which it has only conclusorily presented, is belied by contractual

exculpation and indemnity provisions limiting its liability and by the fact that POST’s

merchant clients have already been sufficiently informed that the plaintiff’s

Case 2:12-cv-00015-PGR Document 42 Filed 06/03/13 Page 3 of 4
1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

- 4 -

obligations to them under the Merchant Service Agreements will cease effective

June 30, 2013. Therefore, 

IT IS ORDERED that plaintiff Bank of America, N.A.’s Motion for Partial

Reconsideration of Order Granting Summary Judgment (Doc. 36) is granted in part

solely to the extent that paragraph (4) of the order portion of the Court’s summary

judgment Order (Doc. 31) is modified as follows:

(4) Effective as of June 30, 2013, Bank of America, N.A.

shall relinquish all rights to the Bank Identification

Numbers (BINs) and Interstate Card Associations (ICAs)

of POST Integrations, Inc. and Ebocom L.L.C., and shall

thereafter have no further duties, responsibilities, or rights

with respect to such BINs and ICAs. Prior to June 30,

2013, Bank of America, N.A. shall not use, transfer, or

interfere with those BIN and ICA numbers without a joint

directive from Visa and Post Integrations, Inc., and a joint

directive from MasterCard and Post Integrations, Inc.

POST Integrations, Inc. and Ebocom, L.L.C. shall continue

to make payments to Bank of America, N.A. as specified

in the BIN Sponsorship Agreements until June 30, 2013.

DATED this 3rd day of June, 2013.

Case 2:12-cv-00015-PGR Document 42 Filed 06/03/13 Page 4 of 4