A federal judge in Manhattan has denied summary judgment in an antitrust suit against Citigroup and Discover Bank alleging that they conspired with other banks to add arbitration clauses to their credit card agreements in order to  curb class actions. The case alleges that the banks formed an “Arbitration Coalition” that met multiple times between 1999 and 2003, often at the Washington, DC office of the then-Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering. The plaintiffs assert that the banks illegally coordinated the incorporation of arbitration clauses into their agreements during these meetings.

Citigroup and Discover are the last defendants remaining in the suit (American Express is the defendant in a separate suit), with the other defendant banks, including Bank of America, Capital One, HSBC, and JP Morgan Chase, having settled. As part of those settlements, the banks removed the arbitration clauses from many of their agreements. The case against Citigroup and Discover Bank will now go forward.