On April 26, 2022, the Italian Supreme Court confirmed a judgment of the Milan Court of Appeal, which had upheld the damages claim brought by Teleunit S.p.A. (“Teleunit”) against Telecom Italia S.p.A. (“Tim”)[1].
A Completed Merger Cannot Be Considered as Part of an Abusive Strategy in the Framework of a Later Article 102 Decision
The Regional Administrative Court of Lazio, Italy (the “TAR Lazio”), annulled a decision by which in 2020 the Italian Competition Authority (the “ICA”) had imposed a fine on CTS Eventim-TicketOne Group (“TicketOne”) for allegedly abusing its dominant position in the Italian market for the sale of tickets for pop and rock music concerts.[1]
The Conseil Constitutionnel Holds That Multiple Sanctions Imposed on the Same Person for Several Infringements Regarding Restrictive Competition Practices Complies With the French Constitution
On March 25, 2022, the French Conseil constitutionnel[1] held that the provisions of Article L.470-2, paragraph VII of the French Commercial Code, which provide for the cumulative enforcement of penalties imposed on the same person for multiple breaches regarding restrictive trade practices, are in compliance with the French Constitution.
Achilles v Network Rail: Signalling a Shift Towards More Standalone Competition Litigation?
The Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) has granted a claim for damages by Achilles Information Limited (“Achilles”) against Network Rail Infrastructure Limited (“Network Rail”). The Judgment is the CAT’s first damages award arising from a standalone claim since 2016, and follows the CAT’s earlier finding that Network Rail had breached Chapter 1 and Chapter 2 of the Competition Act 1998 (the “Act”).
The Paris Court of Appeals Rejects Private Antitrust Damage Claim Against Schneider Electric, Despite Previous Commitments Decision
In a ruling dated March 9, 2022, the Paris Court of Appeals partially quashed a 2019 judgment in which the Paris Commercial Court had held that Schneider Electric France was in a dominant position in certain markets for the supply of spare parts.
The General Court Judgment In UPS: Damages Against European Commission Remain Aspirational
On February 23, 2022, the General Court dismissed UPS’ €1.7 billion claim for damages allegedly suffered due to the Commission’s prohibition of the proposed €5.2 billion merger between UPS and TNT Express (“TNT”). Although the General Court had previously annulled the Commission prohibition decision due to procedural deficiencies, it rejected UPS’ follow-on damages claim because UPS failed to demonstrate that it would have secured approval for the TNT transaction absent the procedural breach.[1]
Sped-Pro: Rule Of Law Vs EU Law Clash
On February 9, 2022, the General Court annulled another Commission decision rejecting an antitrust complaint, because the Commission failed to properly examine and address alleged systemic and generalized rule of law deficiencies in Poland which question the possibility of a fair trial before the Polish Competition Authority.[1]
Gazprom: The Return Of The State Compulsion Defense?
On February 2, 2022, the General Court annulled a Commission decision rejecting an antitrust complaint against Gazprom, due to deficient Commission reasoning.[1]
The General Court Judgment in Scania: A Hybrid Cartel Path Is Fair And Square
On February 2, 2022, the General Court dismissed Scania’s trucks cartel appeal and essentially endorsed the Commission’s hybrid cartel procedure that bifurcates the Commission’s investigation into a settlement path with willing parties and an adversarial path with any hold outs.[1] The General Court was satisfied that the Commission examined all the facts and arguments that Scania (a non-settling party) brought before it afresh, and in particular, without relying on the facts or conclusions reached during the settlement procedure, which ensured a fair and impartial adversarial procedure.
The Paris Court of Appeals annuls €2 million damages award to Carrefour for body care cartel
On January 5, 2022, the Paris Court of Appeals annulled a €2 million damages award that the Paris Commercial Court ordered feminine hygiene products company Vania to pay Carrefour[1] as a result of its participation in a cartel in the body care sector, which resulted in maintaining artificially high prices between 2003 and 2006, and for which Vania was fined €45.03 million by the French Competition Authority (“FCA”) in 2014.