<ul data-eligibleForWebStory="false">Apple, Visa, and Mastercard have had a merchant antitrust lawsuit dismissed by a U.S. judge over alleged collusion in the payments network market.The lawsuit claimed that the trio conspired to inflate merchant transaction fees by stifling competition but lacked sufficient evidence.The judge allowed the merchants to amend their lawsuit, stating the original allegations were circumstantial.Despite the dismissal, the merchants can still strengthen their claims in the ongoing legal battle.