Walmart Inc. can end its credit card partnership with Capital One early because of the bank's poor customer service, a federal judge ruled Tuesday.
In a complaint filed on April 7, 2023, Walmart said that it contracted with Capital One in July 2018 to issue Walmart-branded credit cards. The contract included many service requirements that Capital One was obligated to meet, Walmart said.
But the Bentonville-based retailer said Capital One "repeatedly failed to meet several of the most important requirements," giving it the right to withdraw the contract. Capital One disagreed that its customer service issues in the second half of 2022 triggered Walmart's right to early termination.
The length of the contract between the two companies was redacted.
On Tuesday, federal Judge Katherine Polk Failla of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York sided with Walmart.
The highly redacted opinion states that "Walmart was legally entitled to, and legally did, terminate the agreement" that it had with Capital One.
The case is Walmart Inc. et al v. Capital One, National Association.