Judgment in a landmark competition claim against Mastercard has been delayed following the death of the former Supreme Court justice Lord Kerr. The court was due to announce this morning whether collective action brought by 46 million consumers can proceed to the next stage of litigation.

Mastercard is accused of overcharging UK customers in a case worth an estimated £14bn. The proceedings – which were heard by the Supreme Court in May – hinge on fees imposed by the card issuer on businesses that accepted its debit and credit cards between 1992 and 2008. The claim is brought on behalf of 46 million consumers by former financial services ombudsman Walter Merricks CBE.

In Mastercard Incorporated and others v Walter Hugh Merricks CBE, the Supreme Court will decide whether the Competition Appeal Tribunal’s original decision to refuse Merricks’ application for a collective proceedings order should be remitted.

However, the judgment hand-down has been delayed following the death of Lord Kerr at the age of 72. He retired from the Supreme Court just two months ago. Lord Kerr, Lord Briggs, Lord Sales, Lord Leggatt and Lord Thomas had heard the Mastercard case.

The Supreme Court has not indicated when its decision will be handed down. Judgment in another case which Lord Kerr was not involved in was handed down this morning.