The government and card network are trading accusations of overly broad discovery requests and ‘gamesmanship’ in the DOJ’s debit card lawsuit.

Visa and Justice Department lawyers are battling over the pace of discovery in the government’s antitrust lawsuit, accusing each other of unreasonable behavior as the litigation nears its two-year mark.

With an Oct. 16 deadline looming to finish fact discovery, both sides have asked a federal judge to revise the court’s schedule for adjudicating the 2024 lawsuit, which alleges that Visa operates an illegal monopoly in the U.S. debit card market.

“Visa has not meaningfully engaged” with the government’s efforts since early July to schedule employee depositions, DOJ lawyer Michele Trichler wrote in a letter Friday to U.S. District Judge John Koeltl, who is overseeing the case in New York City.

Trichler further accused the card network of “dilatory behavior” and “gamesmanship” in scheduling depositions.

Three days prior, Visa attorney Kieran Gostin had asked the court to extend the October deadline, noting that the parties agreed an extension would be appropriate, “but they disagree as to the proper length and terms for such an extension.”

No trial date has been set, although it is likely to be in 2028 based on the current case schedule.

In a response order Tuesday, Koeltl noted that the parties’ letters are “riddled with explicit and implicit accusations of unreasonableness,” referring the matter to Magistrate Judge Sarah Cave to rule on a revised discovery deadline.

The DOJ brought the case against Visa in September 2024 under former Attorney General Merrick Garland, during President Joe Biden’s administration, with President Donald Trump’s administration carrying it forward.

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