The English High Court (“High Court”) has issued an important judgment in the claim that Gemalto group companies (“Gemalto”) brought against Infineon (“Infineon”) and Renesas Electronics (“Renesas”) companies, for damages arising from the smart card chips cartel (Gemalto NV and others v Infineon Technologies AG [2022] EWHC 156 (Ch), the “Judgment”). The claim arises from a European Commission decision in 2014. The High Court has found that Gemalto brought its claim out of time because the limitation period started to run not when the Commission adopted that decision, but about one and a half years before that, when the Commission adopted preliminary charges in the form of a Statement of Objections. The Judgment gives a clear signal that prospective claimants can no longer assume that the limitation period starts running from the date of a regulatory decision and gives some reassurance that potential defendants should not be on the receiving end of claims that could have been brought earlier.
Continue Reading English High Court issues warning shot to cartel damages Claimants who delay
Emerging Trends in UK Competition Law Vlog Series – Part II: Enforcement and Litigation
Covington’s four-part video series offers snapshot briefings on key emerging trends in UK Competition Law. In part two, James Marshall and Sophie Albrighton focus on current trends in enforcement and litigation. They are joined by guest speaker Louise Freeman, co-chair of Covington’s Commercial Litigation and European Dispute Resolution Practice Groups, who has extensive experience
UK Competition Appeal Tribunal adds a hurdle to reliance on the pass-on defence
The UK Competition Appeal Tribunal (“CAT”) has made it more difficult for defendants in follow-on competition damages claims to plead that a claimant has mitigated any overcharge by reducing the costs paid to other suppliers in a recent judgment (“Royal Mail/BT v DAF”).
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UK Supreme Court lowers the bar for collective actions
The UK Supreme Court has today ruled in favour of Walter Merricks, the former head of the UK Financial Ombudsman Service., in a hotly-anticipated judgment in the first opt-out competition class action brought in the UK.
Background
Mr Merricks is the proposed class representative for 46.2 million people who, between 22 May 1992 and 21 June 2008, purchased goods and/or services from businesses in the UK that accepted MasterCard cards. Mr Merricks has valued that claim at in excess of £14 billion (and this sum will likely now be even greater, with interest having continued to run since the claim was filed in September 2016). Our commentary on the earlier Court of Appeal decision in the case, with which the Supreme Court largely agreed, can be found here.
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The European Commission’s guidance on passing-on damages calculation
The European Commission (“EC”) has recently published Guidelines for national courts on how to estimate the share of the overcharge caused by cartels which was passed on by direct purchasers to their customers (“Passing-on Guidelines”). The Passing-on Guidelines provide an extensive practical overview of the applicable legal context, the relevant economic theory and quantification methods for the concrete harm caused to claimants in litigation.
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The UK’s CMA Consults on its Proposed Annual Plan 2018/19
The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (the “CMA”) published its proposed “Annual Plan 2018 to 2019” for public consultation last month. Respondents have until January 14 2018, to respond as to whether they agree with the overall direction of the proposed Annual Plan, whether they believe there is anything more that the CMA should be doing or whether there is anything that the CMA should de-prioritise in 2018/19.
We note below some interesting take-away points from the proposed Annual Plan.
Continue Reading The UK’s CMA Consults on its Proposed Annual Plan 2018/19