On 6 November 2022, the Portuguese Competition, Regulation and Supervision Court of Santarém rendered a key judgment in relation to damages proceedings against participants in the European Trucks Cartel. The Court addressed key points, such as the standard of proof, limitation periods, and net price effects in a comprehensive EU case law state of play-based interpretation of national law. Granting the 15.4% overcharge identified in the claimant’s expert report and rejecting the defendant’s “no damage” argumentation, this judgment will have a positive impact beyond the Trucks Cartel case.
Portugal Competition Authority sanctions Energias de Portugal (EDP) €48m for abuse of its dominant position in the secondary electricity reserve market
On 17 September 2019, the Portuguese Competition Authority fined the electricity company EDP €48 million for abusing its dominant position in the market for secondary electricity reserve services in Portugal between 2009 and 2013 by manipulating its electricity offer from its generating units. Portugal Competition Authority sanctions Energias de Portugal (EDP) €48m for abuse of […]
Portuguese healthcare companies and hospitals sanctioned by the Portuguese Competition Authority (AdC) €190m for collusive behaviour in public health services tenders
On 1 July 2022, the Portuguese Competition Authority (AdC) sanctioned a group of hospitals for collusive behaviour and imposed a total fine of €190.995.000. This conduct restricted competition for hospital health services tenders issued by the public health subsystem Instituto de Proteção e Assistência na Doença (ADSE). ADSE is a public health system reserved mostly […]
Trucks cartel: New CJEU landmark judgement empowers victims of antitrust infringements with the right to request ex novo documents, created by the defendants (C-163/21, PACCAR e.a.)
On 10 November 2022, the EU Court of Justice rendered another key judgment in relation to the series of damages proceedings brought in Spain against participants in the European Trucks Cartel. This judgment on the interpretation of Art. 5(1) of the Damages Directive clarifies the wide scope of evidence to which claimants can request access to substantiate potential damages claims. The judgment further strengthens the effectiveness of private enforcement of EU competition rules and should have a positive impact on the whole wave of compensation claims against truck manufacturers in Europe.
Finnish Competition Authority (KKV) proposes a total fine of €44 million on HVAC infrastructure pipeline companies for prohibited cooperation
On 8 September 2022, the Finnish Competition and Consumer Authority (KKV) found that six companies, namely the three largest Finnish wholesalers and the three largest manufacturers of plastic infrastructure pipeline products for heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC), had participated in prohibited coordination. The infringement lasted for more than six years, from 2009 to 2016. The […]
Dutch Competition Authority (ACM) publishes a study on Dutch cloud services and identifies switching barriers
On 5 September 2022, the Dutch Competition Authority (ACM) published a market study on potential anti-competitive practices and their negative consequences on the Dutch and European market for cloud services. Dutch Competition Authority (ACM) publishes a study on Dutch cloud services and identifies switching barriers Cloud services are IT services that are offered over the […]
Trucks cartel: District Court of Amsterdam confirms the possibility for entities to bundle multiple damage claims in one action and applies uniformly Dutch law to those claims
On 27 July 2022, the District Court of Amsterdam delivered an important judgment in which it confirmed previous case law of Dutch courts on the validity of the ‘assignment model’, by which entities, such as CDC, effectively bundle multiple damage claims in one single action. The judgment is in line with EU law, in particular the principle of effectiveness. By choosing Dutch law as the law applicable to all damage claims, the Court has provided an effective solution for victims of competition law infringements.
Spanish largest construction firms fined €203.6m by the CNMC for bid rigging of infrastructure construction and restoration tenders
On 7 July 2022, the CNMC imposed a fine of €203.6m on the six main national construction firms for manipulating public tenders to build infrastructure over more than 25 years, between 1992 and 2017. On the same day, four of the six defendants (Ferrovial, Acciona, Sacyr and ACS) announced the initiation of an appeal procedure […]
Assessing the compatibility of seemingly contradictory statistical evidence in the case of damage estimations (reflections on the article written by Peter Bönisch and Roman Inderst)
In a recent publication, Peter Bönisch and Roman Inderst tackle the delicate issue of the evaluation of seemingly contradictory econometric evidence. Introducing the concept of severity measures, they propose a method to avoid the common obstacles plaguing the interpretation of seemingly conflicting empirical evidence through the practical example of financial damage estimation in follow-on cases. This blog post discusses the ideas presented in the paper.
When is a truck a truck? Defining the relevant products for cartel damages claims
On 1 August 2022, the Court of Justice of the European Union has ruled in Case C-588/20 Daimler (Ententes – Camions à ordures ménageres) that specialised trucks are covered by the cartel found in the European Commission’s 2016 decision in Case AT.39824 Trucks. The judgment concerns the fundamental and practically relevant question of how to identify the products directly affected by a cartel infringement according to the decision of a competition authority, which in this respect is binding for the civil courts in a follow-on action for damages. As a result, the right of injured parties to access the Statement of Objections sent by that authority to the cartelists prior to the adoption of the decision will gain in importance, especially if this decision has finally been adopted after a settlement.