⚖ Oral Arguments, with Context

The Sixth Circuit hears Linney's Pizza's challenge to the rules behind merchants' debit-card fees. An interchange fee compensates the card-issuing bank; merchants bear it through their payment-processing charges. Linney's says the Federal Reserve's Regulation Two allows costs Congress excluded, making the fee cap too high. The district court upheld the rule; Linney's now appeals. The Durbin Amendment requires fees to be reasonable and proportional to issuers' transaction costs. The lawyers use A-C-S for authorization, clearance and settlement, the steps involved in processing a debit payment. The disputed provision requires consideration of incremental A-C-S costs and excludes costs not specific to a particular transaction. Linney's will argue that Congress created only two cost categories; the Board will defend a reading that permits additional transaction-related costs. Banking associations will also defend the rule. Another recurring name is Loper Bright, the Supreme Court decision requiring judges to interpret statutes independently rather than defer just because the text is ambiguous. It still permits Congress to delegate policy choices to agencies within legal limits.

Linney's Pizza v. Federal Reserve Board (No. 25-6038) — U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, argued October 22, 2026.