In its landmark judgment of 22 June 2022 in Case C-267/20 – Volvo and DAF Trucks, the CJEU confirmed that the five-year limitation period under the EU Damages Directive on antitrust damages applies to all cartel damages claims which at the time of the transposition of the Directive into national law were not yet time barred. Equally, the Court stresses that neither the burden nor the standard of proof for the quantification of competition damages must be too high, and that national courts can estimate the amount of cartel damages where the action was brought after 26 December 2014. The judgment provides much awaited legal certainty for many cases in which the temporal application of the new limitation period and the quantification of damages under the Directive is at the heart of the debate.
German Federal Court of Justice confirms the claims assignment model in the Diesel emission case (and beyond)
On 13 June 2022, the Federal Court of Justice (Bundesgerichtshof) held that the claims assignment model (Sammelklage-Inkasso) is admissible for Swiss purchasers in the so-called Diesel scandal (see the Bundesgerichtshof’s press release of the same day). The decision is a further step after the landmark AirDeal judgment last year, in which the Bundesgerichtshof fundamentally acknowledged the collective opt-in assignment model, i.e. the transfer of claims for damages of numerous victims of the same infringement to a specialised third party for the purpose of bundling and joint enforcement of all claims. This approach from a procedural economy perspective has become increasingly important all over Europe in recent years, especially in competition law cases. In its Diesel emission case, the Bundesgerichtshof now confirms that the model is also open to purchasers from Switzerland.
Seven banks involved in European Government Bonds trading cartel during financial crisis
On 20 May 2021, the Commission found that Bank of America, Natixis, Nomura, RBS (now NatWest), UBS, UniCredit, and WestLB (now Portigon) participated in a cartel in the primary and secondary markets for European Government Bonds (EGB). The collusive behaviour lasted from 2007 to 2011, amidst a financial crisis and affected the European Economic Area […]
Spain: Point-system highway maintenance providers’ cartel
CNMC, the Spanish Competition Authority, has imposed a fine of EUR 59.67 million on 12 companies providing maintenance and management services for the country’s national highway networks. The firms were found to have manipulated tenders for road maintenance and operation services of the State Road Network between 2014 and 2018. In addition to the fines, […]
Belgium: Pharmaceutical wholesalers sanctioned for collusion
On 18 February 2022, the Belgian Competition Authority (BCA) sanctioned two pharmaceutical wholesalers, imposing a total fine of EUR 29.8 million on Pharma Belgium-Belmedis SA, after a 40% reduction for cooperation. Febelco CV received immunity from fines for having disclosed the existence of the cartel. Belgium: Pharmaceutical wholesalers sanctioned for collusion This is the BCA’s […]
Trucks cartel: AG Szpunar clarifies the application of Article 5 of the EU Damages Directive to documents to be created ex novo
On April 7, 2022, AG Szpunar delivered its opinion in the context of a request for a preliminary ruling made by the Commercial Court 7 of Barcelona to the CJEU concerning, i.a, the interpretation of Article 5(1) of Directive 2014/104/EU on the disclosure inter partes of evidence.
Jedi Blue Agreement (Google / Facebook)
On 11 March, the European Commission and the Competition and Markets Authority of the United Kingdom announced investigations into a suspicious agreement between Google and Facebook (not yet Meta at that time) in September 2018 related to online advertising. Both agencies believe that the agreement may have breached their respective competition rules on anti-competitive agreements […]
Interest on cartel damages
Suppose that in 2002, a cartel caused EUR 1,000 in damages to a victim. Is the victim 20 years later entitled to only EUR 1,000? Of course not. The amount must be adjusted for interest. EU law is clear on this point, along with the requirement that interest must accrue as of the time the damage occurred. Other modalities, however, are left to national laws. When working out interest in any concrete case, several common issues should be considered. The following attempts to foster systematic treatment of this interesting (sic!) topic.
The Bundeskartellamt has conducted unannounced dawn raids at the German premises of cable manufacturers
In January 2022, the Bundeskartellamt conducted unannounced dawn raids at the German premises of cable manufacturers and other companies active in the market of cable manufacturing. According to the statements published by the companies, these inspections concern the undertakings Nexans, Leoni, and Prysmian. The undertakings declared their willingness to cooperate with the Bundeskartellamt. The Bundeskartellamt […]
Spain: collusion in the markets related to football rights acquisitions
On 27 December 2021, the Spanish appeal court confirmed an earlier decision of the Spanish Competition Authority fining Telefónica and Distribuidora de Television Digital (DTS) for colluding in the acquisition of football rights and adjacent downstream markets. The Spanish court also upheld the imposed fine of 15.5 million euros. Spain: collusion in the markets related […]