Category: competition

OFT publishes recommendations on private actions in competition law – Office of Fair Trading

Posted November 27th, 2007 in competition, consumer protection, press releases by sally

“The OFT has … published recommendations to Government to improve the effectiveness of redress for consumers and businesses that have suffered loss as a result of breaches of competition law. The recommendations follow an informal consultation on an OFT discussion paper published in April.”

Press release 

Office of Fair Trading, 26th November 2007

Source: www.oft.gov.uk

Related link: Private Actions in Competition Law (pdf)

Dawn of a new era – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted October 5th, 2007 in competition, legal profession, legal services, special report by sally

“As the Legal Services Bill reaches its final Parliamentary lap, Neil Rose looks at what concessions the government has made to ensure this groundbreaking legislation becomes law.”

Full story

Law Society’s Gazette, 4th October 2007

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Commission’s bold decision will make IT giants tremble – The Times

Posted September 18th, 2007 in competition, EC law, news by sally

“Thirteen judges signalled bad luck for so-called superdominant companies yesterday and confirmed Europe as the world’s most hostile arena for private sector titans.”

Full story

The Times, 18th September 2007

Source: www.timesonline.co.uk

Train ticket increases could breach law – The Guardian

Posted August 30th, 2007 in competition, news, railways by sally

“Rail fare increases could breach competition law if passengers are left carrying an excessive share of the cost of running the railways, the industry regulator warned yesterday.”

Full story

The Guardian, 30th August 2007

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Two supermarkets in e-mail probe – BBC News

Posted August 20th, 2007 in competition, news by sally

“Two of the UK’s supermarket giants have been ordered to hand over millions of e-mails and letters as part of a Competition Commission investigation.”

Full story

BBC News, 18th August 2007

BAA under the spotlight – The Guardian

Posted August 10th, 2007 in airlines, competition, news by sally

“BAA today faced renewed calls for it to be broken up it as a competition inquiry that will determine its future entered a crucial phase.”

Full story

The Guardian, 9th August 2007

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

New monopoly probe to mull BAA break-up – The Times

Posted August 9th, 2007 in airlines, competition, news by sally

“The quality of service received by passengers and airlines at Heathrow airport will come under the scrutiny of the UK’s competition regulator, as part of a wide-ranging investigation into the country’s largest airports operator.”

Full story

The Times, 9th August 2007

Source: www.timesonline.co.uk

OFT raises threshold for merger probes – The Times

Posted June 19th, 2007 in competition, news by sally

“Mergers and acquisitions in industries worth less than £10 million will escape competition investigations in most cases according to new proposals from the Office of Fair Trading (OFT).”

Full story

The Times, 18th June 2007

Source: www.timesonline.co.uk  

Britannia Alloys & Chemicals Ltd. v. Commission of the European Communities – WLR Daily

Posted June 11th, 2007 in competition, EC law, law reports by sally

Britannia Alloys & Chemicals Ltd. v. Commission of the European Communities (Case C-76/06P)

“Where the Commission of the European Communities found that an undertaking had participated in anti-competitive practices contrary to art 81 EC and imposed a fine by reference to the undertaking’s turnover in the “preceding business year”, and the undertaking had no turnover in the business year preceding the date of the infringement decision, the Commission was entitled to refer to another business year.” 

WLR Daily, 7th June 2007

Source: www.lawreports.co.uk

Please note once a case has ben fully reported in one of the ICLR series the corresponding WLR Daily summary is removed.

Competition regulator to probe Sky’s stake in ITV – OUT-LAW.com

Posted May 25th, 2007 in competition, media, news by sally

“The Competition Commission will investigate BSkyB’s acquisition of a 17.9% stake in ITV. The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has referred the purchase to the Commission after reports from the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) and media regulator Ofcom.”

Full story

OUT-LAW.com, 24th May 2007

Source: www.out-law.com

BA faces prospect of multiple lawsuits – The Times

Posted May 18th, 2007 in competition, news by sally

“British Airways’ admission that there have been ‘breaches of its competition policy’ – a legalistic way of owning up to having cheated on ticket prices – opens the airline up to the potential for multiple lawsuits.”

Full story

The Times, 18th May 2007

Source: www.timesonline.co.uk

Sky is abusing its position to destroy us, says Virgin – The Guardian

Posted April 27th, 2007 in competition, media, news by sally

“Cable TV operator Virgin Media has accused Rupert Murdoch’s BSkyB of trying to weaken and eventually eliminate it with anti-competitive behaviour, according to high court papers filed against the satellite broadcaster.”

Full story

The Guardian, 27th April 2007

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

OFT proposal to encourage civil disputes ignites fierce debate – Legal Week

Posted April 26th, 2007 in competition, fees, law firms, news by sally

“Controversial proposals to encourage private competition claims by introducing larger success fees have sparked intense debate among the UK’s legal profession.”

Full story

Legal Week, 26th April 2007

Source: www.legalweek.com

Lords reject European competition appeal court – The Times

Posted April 23rd, 2007 in competition, EC law, news by sally

“Calls for the creation of a new EU competition court to hear appeals over European Commission (EC) decisions on the legality of large mergers and acquisitions have been rejected by a House of Lords committee.”

Full story

The Times, 23rd April 2007

Source: www.timesonline.co.uk

Suing a cartel should be easier, says OFT – OUT-LAW.com

Posted April 19th, 2007 in competition, news by sally

“Consumers and businesses harmed by cartels and other anti-competitive practices should be better placed to recover their losses, according to the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) which launched a consultation on changing competition rules this week.”

Full story

OUT-LAW.com, 19th April 2007

Source: www.out-law.com

Lawyers wooed to antitrust litigation – Financial Times

Posted April 19th, 2007 in competition, fees, news by sally

“Lawyers could be allowed to earn bigger success-related fees on private antitrust cases in an effort to encourage them to tackle such litigation, Britain’s competition watchdog has suggested.”

Full story

Financial Times, 18th April 2007

Source: www.ft.com

OFT says ‘yes’ to private competition enforcement – The Lawyer

Posted April 18th, 2007 in competition, news by sally

“The OFT will today release a discussion paper, which will set out why representative actions should be made more broadly available, and will also encourage the settlement of cases without going to court.”

Full story

The Lawyer, 18th April 2007

Source: www.thelawyer.com

Inquiry still seeks planning expert on supermarkets – The Times

Posted April 17th, 2007 in competition, news, planning by sally

“The Competition Commission is struggling to find an expert to advise on planning issues, which form a key part of its inquiry into the grocery market.”

Full story

The Times, 17th April 2007

Source: www.timesonline.co.uk

Competition laws could keep RBS from getting ABN – The Times

Posted April 16th, 2007 in competition, news by sally

“The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) consortium trying to gatecrash the £80 billion merger talks between Barclays and ABN Amro could have its approach scuppered on competition grounds.”

Full story

The Times, 16th April 2007

Source: www.timesonline.co.uk

Virgin Media sues BSkyB in High Court – The Times

Posted April 13th, 2007 in competition, media, news by sally

“Virgin Media has filed legal proceedings against BSkyB in the High Court, making good a threat to sue the rival pay-TV group over a dispute over the carriage fees paid to air channels.”

Full story

The Times, 13th April 2007

Source: www.timesonline.co.uk