On February 7, 2020, the Munich District Court dismissed financialright claims GmbH’s (“financialright”) claim of approx. €900 million against members of the truck cartel.[1] The judges squashed litigation vehicle financialright’s business model tailored to pursue a U.S. style class action in Germany, ruling that it lacked standing. Upon appeal, the Munich Court of Appeal is called to decide.
Europcar UK Limited and Others v Mastercard Inc. and Others
On 31 January 2020, the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) stayed a claim for damages brought by Europcar against
The FCJ Has Once Again Set the Scene for Cartels Damages Actions
On January 28, 2020, the German Federal Court of Justice (“FCJ”) handed down another judgment concerning the Rail Cartel (“Rail Cartel II”).[1] In line with its earlier judgment concerning the Rail Cartel (“Rail Cartel I”)[2], the FCJ confirmed that claimants cannot rely on prima facie evidence to prove causal damages; at least in price, quota and customer sharing cartels. At the same time, it further aligned the requirements under German tort law with the European Court of Justice’s (“ECJ”) case law and in this context partially overruled its judgment in Rail Cartel I.
The Court of Milan Dismisses a Follow-on Action for Damages Brought Against the Incumbent in the Italian Electronic Communications Sector
On December 18, 2019, the Court of Milan rejected an action for damages brought by Enter S.r.l. (“Enter”) against Telecom Italia S.p.A. (“TIM”) in follow-on litigation for an alleged abuse of dominance in the provision of wholesale access services, which had been established and fined by the Italian Competition Authority (the “ICA”) in 2013.[1]
Otis: The Court of Justice Clarifies That Compensation for Loss Caused by a Cartels Is Not Limited to Market Participants
On December 12, 2019, the ECJ clarified in a preliminary ruling that entities which are not active as customers or suppliers in the markets affected by a cartel are entitled to claim damages under Article 101 TFEU.[1]
The Paris Court of Appeals Orders Renault Trucks To Disclose the Commission’s Statement of Objections and Its Annexes in a Follow-on Damages Action
On October 25, 2019, the Paris Court of Appeals ordered Renault Trucks to disclose the Commission’s statement of objections (“SO”) and its annexes in a follow-on damages action arising from the Trucks cartel.
A Farewell to Arms? Compensating Victims of Anti-competitive Conduct Without Litigation
On 3 October 2019, the CMA accepted commitments ending part of a two-year investigation into Aspen, a pharmaceutical producer.[1] These commitments include an undertaking never previously employed by the CMA to compensate victims of the alleged anti-competitive conduct without the need for private enforcement. The investigation is ongoing in respect of market sharing agreements that the CMA alleges Aspen has entered into with Tiofarma and Amilco.
The Court of Justice in Tibor-trans Expands Forum Options for Cartels Damages Claimants
On July 29, 2019, the Court of Justice confirmed that the Hungarian courts had jurisdiction to rule on damages claims brought by Tibor-Trans Fuvarozó és Kereskedelmi Kft. (“Tibor-Trans”), a Hungarian logistics company, against DAF Trucks N.V. (“DAF”), one of the members of the EU-wide trucks cartel.[1] The Court of Justice clarified that cartel victims may claim damages in any Member State affected by a cartel, even where they had no direct contractual relationship with the cartelists.
Merricks v Mastercard
On 25 July 2019, the Supreme Court granted Mastercard permission to appeal the Court of Appeal’s judgment of April 2019.
Gutmann v First MTR South Western Trains and Another; Gutmann v London & South Eastern Railway.
On 4 June 2019, the CAT refused an application by two train operators to stay class certification proceedings against them