Private enforcement

Abuse of dominance, Damages, Digital markets, Google, Jurisdiction, Netherlands, Private enforcement

, , (Stek)/ /Leave a comment

In a recent judgment of 31 May 2023, the Amsterdam District Court (the District Court) accepted jurisdiction to adjudicate a damages case against Google Netherlands B.V. (located in Amsterdam) as well as against Google LLC and Alphabet Inc., two US-based entities that were fined by the European Commission in the Google Shopping case for abuse…

Class action, Collective Redress, Digital competition, Digital Markets Act, Private enforcement

, (CDC Cartel Damage Claims Consulting)/ /Leave a comment

Introduction With the provisions of the Digital Markets Act (‘DMA’, ‘Regulation’) going into effect as of 2 May 2023, the European Union has introduced its ex-ante instrument to regulate the digital markets. This innovative body of rules targets large digital platforms which provide ‘core platform services’ and qualify as ‘gatekeepers’ (Article 2(1). Such online platforms…

Competition enforcement, Damages, European Court of Justice, National competition authorities (NCAs), National court, Private enforcement, References for a preliminary ruling

(University of Göttingen, Germany)/ /Leave a comment

In a preliminary reference procedure stemming from a private cartel damages action in Spain, the European Court of Justice (‘ECJ’ or ‘the Court’) had to rule on the binding effects of national competition authorities’ (‘NCAs’) decisions for private enforcement as evidence before national courts. Besides, another question concerned the effects of the automatic nullity of…

Competition Law 2022, Competition policy, Competition proceedings, Portugal, Private enforcement

, , (DLA Piper Portugal)/ /Leave a comment

This overview covers the main developments in competition law and policy in Portugal in the course of 2022.   Legislative and institutional developments The  Portuguese Competition Act and the bylaws of the Portuguese Competition Authority (PCA) were subject to significant amendments in 2022. Those amendments were approved by Law no. 17/2022, of 17 August, which…

Costs, Damages, Disclosure, Estimation, European Court of Justice, Evidence, Liability, Litigation, Private actions, Private enforcement, Procedures

(University of Vienna, Austria)/ /Leave a comment

The judgment of the European Court of Justice (CJEU) in Tráficos Manuel Ferrer (C-312/21) provides some clarity on the compatibility of national cost rules and judicial damages estimation with EU primary law – the effective enforcement of EU competition law – and the rules of the Damages Directive. The CJEU followed AG Kokott’s opinion to…

Damages, Jurisdiction, Private actions, Private enforcement, Procedures, Spain, Stand-alone action

(Suderow Fernández)/ /Leave a comment

Over the last five years, mass litigation in the field of antitrust in Spain has rapidly increased. The so-called “Trucks Cartel Litigation” has generated thousands of judgements and dozens of referrals to the CJEU. These judgements and referrals have allowed national courts and the CJEU to clarify several legal questions, such as the temporal application…

Brazil, Cartels, Private enforcement

(Magalhães e Dias Advocacia) and (University of São Paulo)/ /Leave a comment

Last November, on the 10th anniversary of the Brazilian Competition Act (Law No. 12,529/2012, or BCA), a long-expected regulation aiming at incentivizing actions for antitrust damages was enacted in Brazil (the so-called “Brazilian Private Enforcement Package” – BPEP, or Law No. 14,470/2022). Formerly proposed before the Brazilian Senate in 2016 (Senate Bill 283/2016) and inspired…

Damages, Disclosure, European Court of Justice, Evidence, National court, Private enforcement, Proportionality

(University of Göttingen, Germany)/ /Leave a comment

On 10 November 2022, the European Court of Justice (ECJ or the Court) delivered its judgment in another private enforcement case, interpreting Art. 5 of Directive 2014/104/EU (the Damages Directive or the Directive). It answered the preliminary question raised by a Spanish First Instance Commercial Court that the disclosure of information or documents which do…

Cartels, Class action, Collective Redress, Damages, Germany, Private actions, Private enforcement

(Spieker & Jaeger)/ /1 Comment

The collective private antitrust cases in the so-called timber cartel keep many German courts busy. At the beginning of the year, the Stuttgart Regional Court rejected any claims for cartel damages in a rather blunt manner [Link]. Now, the Regional Court of Dortmund has heard the case. As Dortmund is located in Germany’s Westfalia region,…

Collective Redress, Damages, Disclosure, Effects-based, Enforcement, European Union, Evidence, Fair Fund, International Law Talk, Leniency, Liability, National competition authorities (NCAs), Podcast, Private actions, Private enforcement, Procedures, Standard of Proof

(University of Vienna, Austria)/ /Leave a comment

Two Germans meet in Graz to discuss private enforcement of competition law in the EU. Tune in for the first in-person interview of the competition edition of the International Law Talk Podcast. On a warm summer day in June, I interviewed Thomas Thiede on our favorite topic: private enforcement of competition law and its newest…