Worldpay US, Inc. – Aggressive Defense Against ISO’s Lawsuit Pays Off

Challenge

Worldpay, an Atlanta-based payment processor, was sued in 2015 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division, by Global Cash Network, Inc. Global Cash is an “ISO,” or independent sales organization, that recruits merchants for Worldpay and receives a “residual,” or referral fee, based on merchant processing volume. In its complaint, Global Cash claimed that for more than 10 years Worldpay and its predecessor companies shortchanged Global Cash on its compensation for referring customers, resulting in $5 million in allegedly unpaid residuals. Global Cash also alleged that Worldpay failed to protect against the wrongful diversion of funds, which allowed a Global Cash employee to redirect nearly $700,000 in residuals to her personal account. Arnall Golden Gregory has enjoyed a long history representing Worldpay and other payment processors and aggressively defended the company in this litigation.

Approach

Global Cash’s lawsuit alleged breach of contract, aiding and abetting a breach of fiduciary duty, conversion and other claims, and sought approximately $5.7 million in damages. Arnall Golden Gregory moved to have the claims dismissed. Granting Worldpay’s motion in full, the court tossed out more than half of the claim for the allegedly underpaid residuals on statute of limitation grounds and further dismissed the claim for reimbursement of the money diverted by Global Cash’s employee, holding that Worldpay had no duty to protect Global Cash against internal employee theft. That favorable ruling paved the way for a prompt and highly favorable settlement.

Result

The parties reached a confidential settlement that eliminated Worldpay’s litigation exposure and brought an end to its legal spend associated with the case.