On January 4, 2022,[1] the Supreme Court of Cassation fully upheld a judgment of the Milan Court of Appeals,[2] which had dismissed the damage action brought by Fastweb S.p.A. (“Fastweb”) against Vodafone Italia S.p.A. (“Vodafone”).
The FCO’s Annual Review 2021
On December 22, 2021, the German Federal Cartel Office (“FCO”) published its annual review for 2021.[1] As done already on the occasion of the presentation of its Annual Report 2020/2021,[2] the FCO’s President, Andreas Mundt, emphasized again that the protection of competition in the digital economy remains one of the FCO’s top priorities. He underlined that also merger control will continue to serve as a key tool to achieve this goal. In addition, he pointed out that the FCO would welcome powers of intervention also with regard to infringements of consumer rights.
AG Rantos’ Opinion in Servizio Elettrico Nazionale and Others (Case C-377/20) Towards a Conceptual Approach To Identifying Exclusionary Abuses Under Article 102 TFEU
On December 9, 2021, Advocate General (“AG”) Rantos delivered his opinion on the questions referred to the Court of Justice (“ECJ”) by the Italian Consiglio di Stato in case Servizio Elettrico Nazionale.[1] The Consiglio di Stato is seeking clarification of certain aspects of the concept of “abuse” under Article 102 TFEU.
The TAR Lazio Upholds a Fine Imposed on Corepla for Abusing Its Dominant Position in the Market for Plastic Waste Recycling Services
On November 22, 2021, the Regional Administrative Court of Latium (the “TAR Lazio”) rejected the application for annulment, lodged by the Italian Consortium for the Collection, Recycling and Recovery of Plastic Packaging (“COREPLA”), against the decision by which the ICA fined COREPLA in an amount in excess of €27 million, under Article 102 TFEU, for abusing its dominance in the Italian market for plastic waste recycling services (the “Decision”).[1]
The ICA Fines Amazon and Apple for Restricting Competition in the Sales of Apple and Beats Products on Amazon Marketplace
On November 16, 2021, the Italian Competition Authority (the “ICA” or the “Authority”) imposed a fine of €134.5 million on Apple Inc. and certain of its subsidiaries (“Apple”) and a fine of €68.7 million on Amazon.com Inc. and certain of its subsidiaries (“Amazon”; together with Apple, the “Parties”) for restricting certain resellers of Apple products, including those of the Apple-owned brand Beats, from accessing the online marketplace of Amazon (“Amazon Marketplace”).[1]
The Ica Fully Dismisses Allegations of Abuse of Dominance in the Market for the Production of Pet Pre-forms
On October 29, 2021, the ICA decided to close the investigation into an alleged abuse of dominant position by Husky Injection Molding Systems (“Husky”), without finding any infringement.[1] The ICA found that the evidence collected during the investigation did not allow it to confirm the allegations put forward at the beginning of the proceedings (the “Decision”).
The Court of Naples Again Awards Antitrust Damages Quantified on an Equitable Basis in Follow-on Litigation Stemming From the EU “Trucks” Case
On October 20, 2021, the Court of Naples upheld a claim for damages filed by an Italian logistics company (the “Applicant”), on the basis of a European Commission decision of July 2016,[1] against truck manufacturer Iveco S.p.A. (“Iveco”), in connection with the plaintiff’s purchase of numerous trucks from the defendant. According to the European Commission decision, Iveco and four other truck manufacturers colluded for over 13 years on truck pricing and on the costs of compliance with emission rules (the “EC Decision”).[2]
The ICA Closes Investigation Into Google’s Conduct in the Digital Advertising Sector Following the Opening of Proceedings by the European Commission
On October 12, 2021, the ICA closed an investigation against Google, due to the fact that, in June 2021, the European Commission (the “Commission”) opened an investigation having the same scope.[1]
The Supreme Court Fully Dismisses the Appeals Against the Council of State Judgment in the Roche-Novartis Case as Inadmissible
In a judgment delivered on October 5, 2021 (the “Judgment”),[1] the Italian Supreme Court held that the appeals filed by F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd. and Roche S.p.A. (“Roche”), as well as Novartis Farma S.p.A. and Novartis AG (“Novartis” and, together with Roche, the “Parties”), against a ruling issued in 2019 by the Council of State,[2] were inadmissible.
The Italian Supreme Court Declares Inadmissible as Manifestly Unfounded an Appeal Against a Judgment on a Follow-on Claim for Damages Regarding an Alleged Abuse of a Dominant Position on the Market for Gas Distribution
On October 4, 2021, the Italian Supreme Court (the “Supreme Court”)[1] confirmed a judgment of the Florence Court of Appeal, which had upheld the damages claim of Pace Strade s.r.l. (“Pace Strade”) against Toscana Energia S.p.A. (“Toscana Energia”).