STRATEGIC PARTNERS
December 13, 1999
The California cities of Santa Monica and San Francisco filed an appeal requesting they be allowed to enforce bans on ATM surcharges while a battle over the issue is being waged in court. A federal judge issued a temporary injunction last month allowing banks to continue charging fees, although they must be put in an escrow account so they could be returned to ATM users if Santa Monica and San Francisco win in court. A request to lift U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker's temporary injunction was filed Dec. 10 with the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The appeal contends that Walker misinterpreted federal law in his ruling. Santa Monica's City Council passed an ordinance in November prohibiting banks within city limits from charging fees to noncustomers at ATMs. San Francisco voters passed a similar law. Wells Fargo and Bank of America, which control 86 percent of the ATMs in the two cities, sued. In an attention-getting move, they also allowed only bank customers to use their Santa Monica ATMs.
