On July 12, 2021, the Regional Administrative Tribunal for Latium (the “TAR Lazio”) annulled the overall €228 million fines imposed by the ICA on Fastweb S.p.A. (“Fastweb”), Telecom Italia S.p.A. (“TIM”), Vodafone Italia S.p.A. (“Vodafone”) and Wind Tre S.p.A. (“Wind Tre”; collectively, the “Operators”) for an alleged cartel aimed at coordinating pricing strategies in the transition from a 28-day to a monthly billing period (so-called repricing).[1]
The Court of Naples Awards First Ever Antitrust Damages in a Follow-on Claim Stemming From the EU “Trucks” Case, Quantifying the Damages on Equitable Principles
On July 6, 2021, the Court of Naples upheld a claim for damages filed by a logistics company (the “Applicant”) against one truck manufacturing company (the “Defendant”) in connection with the purchase of a truck falling within the scope of a European Commission decision of July 2016 (the “2016 Decision”).[1] The 2016 Decision established that the Defendant and four other truck manufacturers colluded for 14 years on truck pricing and on passing on the costs of compliance with emission rules.[2] While several similar claims are currently pending in Italy, this is the first known case in which a court awarded damages.
TAR Lazio Annuls ICA Decision on Agreement on Remuneration for Seda Service
In six judgments dated June 30 to July 1, 2021,[1] the Lazio Regional Administrative Court (the “TAR Lazio”) set aside an infringement decision issued by the Italian Competition Authority (“ICA”) against eleven Italian banks[2] and the Italian Banking Association (the “ABI”). The ICA decision concerned an alleged anticompetitive agreement aimed at coordinating business strategies in order to determine the remuneration model for the Sepa Compliant Electronic Database Alignment (“SEDA”) service.[3]
ICA Accepts Commitments Offered by Parties To Alleged Anticompetitive Agreement in Scrap Automotive and Industrial Lead-acid Batteries Sector
On June 15, 2021, the Italian Competition Authority (the “ICA”) adopted a decision that made legally binding the commitments offered by certain companies active in the scrap lead-acid batteries sector, in the context of an investigation regarding the alleged coordination of their pricing behavior.[1] These commitments were found to adequately address the ICA’s concern that the companies and the collecting organizations they belonged to may have coordinated their behavior in violation of Article 101 TFEU.
The Milan Court of Appeal Declares Inadmissible as Manifestly Unfounded an Appeal Against a Judgment by the Court of Milan That Dismissed a Follow-on Damages Action Brought Against the Italian Electronic Communications Sector’s Incumbent
On June 7, 2021,[1] the Milan Court of Appeal (the “Court of Appeal”) declared inadmissible an appeal brought by Irideos S.p.A. (“Irideos”; formerly, Enter S.r.l., “Enter”) against a Court of Milan judgment that had entirely dismissed a follow-on damages action against Telecom Italia S.p.A. (“TIM”) for alleged abuse of dominance in the provision of wholesale access services[2] found by the Italian Competition Authority (the “ICA”) in 2013, on the ground that the appeal did not have a reasonable chance of being upheld, pursuant to Articles 348-bis and ter of the Italian Code of Civil Procedure (the “CCP”).
Westover Ltd v Mastercard Inc.
On 7 June 2021, the CAT ruled on the preliminary issue of whether English or Italian law governs claims made by claimant companies incorporated in Italy (the Italian Claimants). The broader claim relates to an Article 101 TFEU infringement decision concerning default multilateral interchange fees (MIFs) set by Mastercard and Visa.
The Council of State Confirms the ICA’s Assessment of the “Value of Sales” and the “Entry Fee” in Calculating the Fines for a Bid Rigging Case
The Council of State Confirms a TAR Lazio Judgment That Upheld an ICA Decision Concerning a Cartels in the Helicopter Transport Services
On May 6, 2021, the Council of State rejected the appeals lodged by Elifriulia S.r.l and Star Work Sky S.a.s. (the “Parties”)[1] against the TAR Lazio judgment[2] that upheld the 2019 ICA decision fining the Parties approximately €67 million for restrictive agreements concerning certain helicopter transport services.[3]
The TAR Lazio Fully Upholds an ICA Decision That Fined a Legal Monopolist in the Local Public Passenger Transport for Refusal to Supply Essential Information
On May 17, 2021, the Regional Administrative Tribunal of Lazio (“TAR Lazio”) rejected the application for annulment lodged by SAD – Trasporto Locale S.p.A. (“SAD”), a company entrusted by the Autonomous Province of Bolzano (“APB”) with the provision of road passenger transport services in the Bolzano area,[1] against the 2019 decision by which the Italian Competition Authority (“ICA”) fined SAD for abuse of dominance under Article 102 TFEU.[2]