OVERVIEW - The UK Competition and Markets Authority (“CMA”) has recently published a decision accepting commitments from Vifor Pharma (“Vifor”). This brings to a close an unprecedented abuse of dominance investigation...more
2024 saw a significant increase in overall global fines for antitrust enforcement, with total penalties for the jurisdictions surveyed in our report at USD6.7 billion, over double that of 2023 (USD2.9bn) and substantially...more
In a long-awaited judgment handed down on 19 December 2024, the Competition Appeal Tribunal (“CAT”) unanimously dismissed the claim brought by Justin Le Patourel against BT Group Plc (“Le Patourel v BT”). As the first UK...more
The UK Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) recently issued its first-ever precertification ruling addressing a “carriage dispute” in the cases Hunter v. Amazon.com and Hammond v. Amazon.com. A carriage dispute arises where...more
In the first certification decision since the UK Supreme Court’s judgment in PACCAR, the CAT has held that a litigation funding agreement (LFA) revised in light of PACCAR was not a damages-based agreement (DBA) and it was...more
The ruling is also a reminder of the circumstances in which the court may order indemnity costs for such failures. On 29 July 2022, the UK High Court ruled in Cabo Concepts Limited v. MGA Entertainment (UK) Limited that...more
EU, UK Competition, State Aid and Public Procurement Law During COVID-19 - While not the most important concern, it should be appreciated that antitrust/competition law, plus the state aid and public procurement rules,...more
On 10 March 2020 the Court of Appeal upheld the Competition Appeal Tribunal's (CAT) quashing of the Competition and Markets Authority's (CMA) decision that Pfizer and Flynn Pharma (Flynn) had abused their dominant positions...more
On March 10, 2020, the England and Wales Court of Appeal (CoA) handed down its judgment in the appeals by the U.K. Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) and Flynn Pharma Ltd. against a June 2018 Competition Appeal...more
The U.K. Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has published “Guidance on the Functions of the CMA Under the Withdrawal Agreement” (Guidance), which sets out the regulator’s approach to merger and competition cases during...more
On 30 January 2020, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) issued its decision on a request for preliminary ruling submitted by the UK Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) in a case concerning the long-standing...more
The CAT’s Royal Mail v. Ofcom judgment considers what constitutes abusive conduct, the “as-efficient competitor” test, and the use of expert economic advice. On 12 November 2019, the UK Competition Appeal Tribunal (the...more
On 14 March 2019, the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) decided to close its investigation into a discount scheme by Merck Sharp & Dohme Limited (MSD). The CMA concluded that there were no grounds for it to take...more
The UK's Competition Appeal Tribunal (the "CAT") has overturned a finding of abuse of dominance against Pfizer Inc. and Flynn Pharma Ltd. The ruling followed appeals by those companies against a 2016 Competition & Markets...more
On 28 June 2018, the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) announced that it has applied to the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) for permission to appeal against the CAT’s judgment on appeals by Pfizer and Flynn against...more
On 7 June 2017, the Competition Appeal Tribunal (“CAT”) set aside parts of the Competition & Market Authority’s (“CMA”) decision in relation to the CMA’s finding that Pfizer and Flynn charged excessive and unfair prices for...more
The European Commission (EC) and other national competition authorities (NCAs) have traditionally shied away from investigating allegations of excessive pricing and appearing as price regulators. Commissioner Vestager warned...more
On 2 August 2017, the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) launched a consultation on proposals to amend the Office of Fair Trading’s 2012 guidance as to the appropriate amount of a penalty for infringements of the...more
Recent years have seen a significant increase in the number of private competition claims in the European Union. The Claimants' guide to Antitrust/Competition Litigation in the European Union provides an overview of the...more
The Competition Appeal Tribunal (the “CAT”) in the UK heard on 17 January 2017 an application by Flynn Pharma Ltd and Flynn Pharma (Holdings) Ltd (together “Flynn”) to suspend the Competition and Markets Authority’s (the...more
EU: Regulatory Scrutiny of Online Hotel Booking Continues - The 13 July 2016 saw the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) announce that it had sent a questionnaire to a large sample of hotels throughout the UK. As...more
BREXIT – BUSINESS AS USUAL...AT LEAST FOR NOW - What do you need to know? Despite the UK's vote to leave the European Union ("EU"), companies doing business in the UK can still continue to trade with the EU in...more
This case, being already the third since the new CAT Rules came into force on the 1 October 2015, is evidence that the new fast track procedure has been successful in encouraging claims against anti-competitive behaviour and...more
Welcome to March's edition of our EU & Competition Law Bulletin covering recent legal developments impacting upon you and your business: - ..United Kindgdom: Large pay for delay fine imposed by CMA. ..Germany and...more
EU and national leniency applications independent rules ECJ - On the 20 January 2016, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) handed down its ruling on a preliminary reference made by the Italian Council of State on the...more