National Bank of Canada v. Interbank Card Association and Bank of Montreal, 666 F.2d 6, 2d Cir. (1981)

666 F.
2d 6
1980-81 Trade Cases 63,836
NATIONAL BANK OF CANADA, Plaintiff-Appellant,

v.
INTERBANK CARD ASSOCIATION and Bank of Montreal,
Defendants-Appellees.
No. 804, Docket 80-9122.
United States Court of Appeals,

Second Circuit.
Argued Feb. 5, 1981.
Decided Feb. 20, 1981.
Walter L. Stratton, New York City (Richard Y. Holcomb, G. Russell

Miller, David S. Versfelt and Donovan, Leisure, Newton & Irvine, New
York City), for plaintiff-appellant Nat. Bank of Canada.
Harry L. Shniderman, Washington, D. C. (Bingham B. Leverich, Arvid E.
Roach, II, Pierre J. Schlag, Michael A. Roth and Covington & Burling,
Washington, D. C., Frank H. Gordon, Thomas C. Junker and Rogers,
Hoge & Hills, New York City), for defendant-appellee Interbank Card
Ass'n.
John Dickey, New York City (William M. Dallas, Jr., Daniel D. Caldwell
and Sullivan & Cromwell, New York City), for defendant-appellee Bank
of Montreal.
Before TIMBERS and NEWMAN, Circuit Judges, and PLATT, District
Judge.*
TIMBERS, Circuit Judge:
Appellant National Bank of Canada ("National Bank") sought an injunction to

prevent appellees Interbank Card Association ("Interbank") and Bank of
Montreal ("BOM") from carrying out their decision to terminate National
Bank's "Master Charge" credit card business. National Bank and BOM are two
of Canada's eleven banks. Interbank licenses banks and other financial
institutions to operate Master Charge businesses through the issuance of Master

Charge credit cards, the extension of credit to cardholders, and the processing
and exchange of sales paper of participating merchants. The district court,
Leonard B. Sand, District Judge, after a bench trial, in a reasoned opinion, --F.Supp. ---, dismissed the complaint with prejudice at the close of appellant's
case on the ground that no evidence had been introduced that could support
appellant's claims of violation of its rights under the Sherman Act and under the
contracts governing relations among the parties. From the judgment entered on
Judge Sand's opinion, this appeal was taken. We affirm the judgment although
we do so on other grounds in part.
I.
2
National Bank is the result of the amalgamation on November 1, 1979 of two

Canadian banks, Provincial Bank and Banque Canadienne Nationale. Provincial
Bank had formed a joint venture with BOM in 1973 to introduce the Master
Charge system in Canada. Provincial Bank and BOM obtained identical
licenses from Interbank to use the Master Charge trademark and the various
services of Interbank. In the license agreements Interbank guaranteed the two
Canadian banks that it would license no Canadian competitors for the first five
years of their operation. During the next four years, through December 31,
1981, Provincial and BOM each were given veto powers over the entry of new
competitors other than United States companies or Canadian subsidiaries of
United States companies. The license agreements prohibited sublicensing and
assignment.
The attempt of BOM and Interbank to enforce the nonassignment provisions of

the license gives rise to the present action. Interbank decided that, under the
license agreement and the Interbank by-laws, Provincial was barred from
transferring its license and membership to its successor, National Bank.
However, Interbank stated that it would issue a new license to National Bank,
if, but only if, BOM did not veto the application. BOM stated that it would
approve the license only if National Bank disposed of the "Visa" card business
it had inherited from its other predecessor, Banque Canadienne Nationale.
National Bank was unsuccessful in its attempt to sell its Visa card business at a
price acceptable to it. Upon National Bank's failure to meet BOM's conditions
for withholding a veto of the new license application, Interbank issued a
resolution, at BOM's request, terminating National Bank's participation in the
Interbank system.
II.
4
As to appellant's claims under the Sherman Act, the threshold question is
As to appellant's claims under the Sherman Act, the threshold question is

jurisdictional: whether the extraterritorial reach of the Act extends to the
alleged restraint. The district court applied the analysis outlined in Timberlane
Lumber Co. v. Bank of America, N.T. & S.A., 549 F.2d 597 (9 Cir. 1977), and
concluded that jurisdiction was established under Timberlane's tripartite test of
(1) a restraint affecting or intended to affect foreign commerce of the United
States, (2) a restraint of sufficient magnitude "to present a cognizable injury" to
the plaintiff, and (3) the propriety of asserting extraterritorial jurisdiction as a
matter of international comity and fairness. Id. at 613.
Without questioning the pertinence of the third test identified in Timberlane,

we conclude that the separate identification of the first two tests may lead
unwarrantedly to an assertion of jurisdiction whenever the challenged conduct
is shown to have some effect on American foreign commerce, even though the
actionable aspect of the restraint, the anticompetitive effect, is felt only within
the foreign market in which the injured plaintiff seeks to compete. Building
upon the fundamental "effects" test outlined by Judge Learned Hand in United
States v. Aluminum Company of America, 148 F.2d 416 (2 Cir. 1945), we think
the inquiry should be directed primarily toward whether the challenged restraint
has, or is intended to have, any anticompetitive effect upon United States
commerce, either commerce within the United States or export commerce from
the United States. See 1 Areeda & Turner, Antitrust Law 234b, at 255 (1978).
To us the critical factor in deciding this case is that appellants have not shown
that enforcement of the exclusivity provision of the license agreement is at all
likely to have an anticompetitive effect upon American commerce, either
foreign or interstate.
Our jurisdiction is not supported by every conceivable repercussion of the

action objected to on United States commerce. Only those injuries to United
States commerce which reflect the anticompetitive effect either of the violation
or of anticompetitive acts made possible by the violation constitute effects
sufficient to confer jurisdiction. Cf. Brunswick Corp. v. Pueblo Bowl-O-Mat,
429 U.S. 477, 489 (1977). While the anticompetitive effects must be shown to
outweigh any procompetitive effects in order to establish liability, there must
be at least some anticompetitive effects to meet the threshold requirement of
jurisdiction.
The action complained of is the termination by appellees of appellant's

membership in Interbank and the revocation of appellant's right to use the
Master Charge trademark, pursuant to the exclusivity and non-assignability
provisions of appellant's license agreement. Appellant urges that this action,
which will exclude it from competition for Canadian credit cardholders and
merchant accounts, constitutes a restraint of trade in violation of 1 of the

Sherman Act, 15 U.S.C. 1 (1976). Therefore, the important question for us is
whether the termination of appellant as a Master Charge bank in Canada can be
foreseen to have any appreciable anticompetitive effects on United States
commerce. While we do not say that such effects could not occur, they do not
appear from the record before us.
8
The exclusion of one firm from a market obviously increases the concentration
of other firms in that market. The possible anticompetitive result of increased
concentration of a market is an increase in the bargaining power of the firms in
that market over the persons with whom they deal.
Assuming that, at the time the district court was presented with the question of
whether it had jurisdiction, it had no knowledge of the likely impact on
competitive conditions in relevant geographic and product markets, we do not
see that enforcement of the agreement posed a foreseeable threat to United
States commerce of a type sufficient to justify assertion of jurisdiction. If we
assume that the elimination of appellant as a bank in the credit card business
would greatly increase the concentration of that business, and that the increased
concentration would result in merchants having to pay higher fees on their
accounts, the anticompetitive effect on United States commerce still does not
appear. No doubt payment of increased fees by merchants would decrease their
profitability; but decreased profitability of Canadian merchants is not a proper
concern of the United States and appellant has not shown that any significant
number of United States firms doing business in Canada clear credit card sales
paper through Canadian banks or, if they do so, that they are unable to turn to
United States banks for that service.
10
The district court also might have hypothesized that increased concentration of
credit card bankers in Canada would cause a decrease in the number of
Canadian credit cardholders. The anticompetitive effect of a decline in the
number of Canadian cardholders on United States commerce, however, is not
clear. The district court pointed out that many Canadian cardholders use their
cards to purchase goods and services in the United States from time to time.
Yet, we have no basis for assuming, and appellant has not claimed, that these
purchases would not be made on cash terms, or on other credit terms, if, due to
the enforcement of appellant's license agreement, credit cards were unavailable
to some of these purchasers.
11
A relevant inquiry is whether Interbank, the only American actor clearly

involved in this action, and the business with which it is concerned, would be
adversely affected if we do not permit the assertion of jurisdiction. Perhaps the
simplest answer to that question is that Interbank is a defendant in this action

and presumably is acting in its self-interest.
12
In short, appellant has failed to make clear the linkage, if any, between the
behavior objected to and any anticompetitive consequences to United States
commerce.
III.
13
As to appellant's contract claims, we affirm the judgment of the district court

substantially for the reasons set forth in the opinion of Judge Sand dated
December 16, 1980.
14
Affirmed.
Hon. Thomas C. Platt, United States District Judge, Eastern District of New
York, sitting by designation

National Bank of Canada v. Interbank Card Association and Bank of Montreal, 666 F.2d 6, 2d Cir. (1981)

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666 F.

NATIONAL BANK OF CANADA, Plaintiff-Appellant,

United States Court of Appeals,

Walter L. Stratton, New York City (Richard Y. Holcomb, G. Russell

Appellant National Bank of Canada ("National Bank") sought an injunction to

institutions to operate Master Charge businesses through the issuance of Master

National Bank is the result of the amalgamation on November 1, 1979 of two

The attempt of BOM and Interbank to enforce the nonassignment provisions of

As to appellant's claims under the Sherman Act, the threshold question is

As to appellant's claims under the Sherman Act, the threshold question is

Without questioning the pertinence of the third test identified in Timberlane,

Our jurisdiction is not supported by every conceivable repercussion of the

The action complained of is the termination by appellees of appellant's

merchant accounts, constitutes a restraint of trade in violation of 1 of the

A relevant inquiry is whether Interbank, the only American actor clearly

simplest answer to that question is that Interbank is a defendant in this action

As to appellant's contract claims, we affirm the judgment of the district court

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