News Releases

(COLUMBUS, Ohio)—Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine today announced that his office was awarded a Best Brief Award from the National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG) during their recent award cycle for their brief in a prominent antitrust case.

NAAG presented the award to Eric Murphy, the state solicitor and head of the Attorney General’s Appeals Section, Mike Hendershot, and Hannah Wilson, of the Appeals Section for a brief filed in State of Ohio, et al. v. American Express Company et al. before the U.S. Supreme Court. The Attorney General’s Office also recognizes Jennifer Pratt, the head of the Attorney General’s Antitrust Section, for the section’s extensive work on this case.

“I congratulate Eric and his team for receiving this honor. We have bright, highly-skilled litigators in the Attorney General’s Office working for the people of Ohio,” said Attorney General DeWine.

The case involves fees that merchants pay credit card companies when they accept credit card payments from customers. For years, the major credit companies prohibited merchants from telling consumers about those fees and from offering discounts to consumers who used certain (cheaper-for-the-merchant) credit card brands over the others. Ohio argued that the restrictions American Express placed on merchants violated antitrust laws, reducing competition among credit cards companies, and leading to higher prices for merchants and in turn consumers.

The NAAG Best Brief Awards are given annually and presented for excellence in brief writing for the U.S. Supreme Court. Recipients were selected by a panel of independent U.S. Supreme Court experts, each of whom is a leading member of the Supreme Court bar. This is the fourth year in a row the Ohio Attorney General’s Office has received a Best Brief Award.

Pictured from left to right are Antitrust Section Chief Jennifer Pratt, Attorney General Mike DeWine and State Solicitor Eric Murphy.

Media Contacts:

Dan Tierney 614-466-3840
Breann Almos 614-466-3840

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