Category: competition

High Court judge explains £250k cost-capping order in PPE procurement proceedings – Local Government Lawyer

Posted May 12th, 2021 in competition, coronavirus, costs, government departments, health & safety, hospitals, news, public interest, public procurement by sally

‘A High Court judge has given her reasons for making a costs capping order of £250,000 in respect of both the claimants, the Good Law Project and EveryDoctor, and the defendant, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, in the procurement challenge over the award of contracts for the supply of personal protective equipment (PPE).’

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Local Government Lawyer, 10th May 2021

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Street traders lose legal challenge over “innovative product” criterion imposed by council – Local Government Lawyer

Posted May 11th, 2021 in competition, EC law, local government, markets, news, public interest, regulations by sally

‘A High Court judge has dismissed a legal challenge brought by street traders over a council’s implementation of a regulatory framework that requires stall owners to sell products not readily available on the high street.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 10th May 2021

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Legal Services Act has delivered “limited benefits to competition” – Legal Futures

Posted April 20th, 2021 in competition, legal services, news, reports by sally

‘The Legal Services Act 2007 has only delivered “a few of the benefits typically associated with deregulation”, a report by Boston Consulting Group (BCG) has concluded.’

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Legal Futures, 20th April 2021

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Boris Johnson threatens to use ‘legislative bomb’ to stop European Super League – The Guardian

Posted April 20th, 2021 in competition, news, sport, visas by sally

‘Boris Johnson has promised football groups that the government will consider using what he called “a legislative bomb” to stop English clubs joining a breakaway European Super League, as official efforts to thwart the plan were stepped up.’

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The Guardian, 20th April 2021

Source: www.theguardian.com

Councils may have suffered because of ‘pre-paid cards’ cartel, according to provisional findings of regulator – Local Government Lawyer

Posted April 6th, 2021 in benefits, competition, electronic commerce, local government, news by sally

‘Local authorities may have missed out on an alternative supplier of pre-paid cards or products that were either cheaper or better suited to both their needs and the needs of those using such cards, the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) has said after provisionally finding that five companies engaged in cartel behaviour.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 6th April 2021

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

UK watchdog investigates Penguin owner’s Simon & Schuster takeover – The Guardian

Posted March 22nd, 2021 in artistic works, competition, news, ombudsmen by sally

‘The UK competition watchdog has launched an investigation into Penguin Random House’s (PRH) $2bn (£1.45bn) takeover of rival book publisher Simon & Schuster. The Competition and Markets Authority said on Monday it was considering whether the deal, which cements PRH’s position as the world’s biggest book publisher, would result in a “substantial lessening of competition within any market or markets in the United Kingdom for goods or services”.’

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The Guardian, 22nd March 2021

Source: www.theguardian.com

Litigation funding agreements are not DBAs, Court of Appeal judges confirm – Litigation Futures

Posted March 8th, 2021 in appeals, class actions, compensation, competition, damages, news, statutory interpretation, Supreme Court, third parties by sally

‘Agreements with third-party litigation funders are not damages-based agreements (DBAs), three Court of Appeal judges – albeit sitting in the Divisional Court – have decided.’

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Litigation Futures, 8th March 2021

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

UK opens formal investigation of Facebook’s Giphy takeover – The Independent

Posted January 29th, 2021 in artistic works, competition, internet, news, ombudsmen by sally

‘The U.K. s competition watchdog launched a formal investigation on Thursday into Facebook s purchase of Giphy over concerns it will stifle competition for animated images.’

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The Independent, 28th January 2021

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Supreme Court to consider costs orders against regulators – Legal Futures

Posted January 28th, 2021 in appeals, competition, costs, news, solicitors, Solicitors Regulation Authority, Supreme Court by sally

‘The Supreme Court is to consider whether costs should only be awarded against regulators in unsuccessful cases where there is good reason to make an order, it announced today [27 January].’

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Legal Futures, 27th January 2021

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Supreme Court lowers the bar – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted January 12th, 2021 in class actions, compensation, competition, consumer credit, consumer protection, news, Supreme Court by sally

‘On 11 December, in a long-awaited judgment (and in perhaps unique circumstances), the Supreme Court dismissed Mastercard’s appeal in the “gargantuan” collective action brought by Walter Merricks CBE. In doing so, the court has markedly lowered the bar to be applied at the certification stage for competition collective actions. This judgment will have a significant impact on collective actions – which are still in their relative infancy – for years to come. Merricks’ claim will now return to the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT), which will decide again (now with clear guidance from the Supreme Court) whether to certify the claim by granting a collective proceedings order (CPO).’

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Law Society's Gazette, 11th January 2021

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

UK watchdog investigates chip maker Nvidia’s takeover of Arm – The Independent

Posted January 7th, 2021 in competition, consumer protection, licensed premises, news, takeovers by sally

‘British regulators are investigating graphics chip maker Nvidia’s $40 billion purchase of chip designer Arm over concerns about its effect on competition.’

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The Independent, 6th January 2021

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Unsealed claim forms not good service, High Court rules – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted December 18th, 2020 in banking, claims management, competition, documents, news, service, time limits by sally

‘A High Court judge has penalised litigants who served an unsealed amended claim form within the approved deadline, stating that this ultimately did not constitute good service.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 17th December 2020

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Collective Actions in the Supreme Court – Competition Bulletin from Blackstone Chambers

Posted December 14th, 2020 in appeals, banking, chambers articles, class actions, compensation, competition, consumer protection, damages, financial regulation, financial services ombudsman, news, Supreme Court by sally

‘The big news from today’s UK Supreme Court collective action decision in Mastercard v Merricks [2020] UKSC 51 is not only that Mr Merricks won and defeated the appeal, but that the Supreme Court approached the issues in a far more claimant-friendly way than even the Court of Appeal had done.’

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Competition Bulletin from Blackstone Chambers, 11th December 2020

Source: competitionbulletin.com

Mastercard judgment ‘lowers bar’ for collective action – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted December 14th, 2020 in appeals, banking, class actions, compensation, competition, consumer protection, damages, financial regulation, financial services ombudsman, news, Supreme Court by sally

‘The Supreme Court’s ruling against Mastercard will make it easier for group damages claims to proceed to trial, commentators have said. However, the card issuer’s solicitors have stressed the “very unusual circumstances” of the judgment, in which justices were divided on key issues.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 11th December 2020

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

New UK tech regulator to limit power of Google and Facebook – The Guardian

Posted November 27th, 2020 in advertising, codes of practice, competition, consumer protection, government departments, internet, news by sally

‘A new tech regulator will work to limit the power of Google, Facebook and other tech platforms, the government has announced, in an effort to ensure a level playing field for smaller competitors and a fair market for consumers.’

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The Guardian, 27th November 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

Viagogo may have to sell all or part of StubHub, regulator says – BBC News

Posted October 23rd, 2020 in competition, fees, mergers, news, ombudsmen by sally

‘Ticketing site Viagogo may need to sell all or part of StubHub after an investigation by the UK’s competition watchdog found the merger of the two firms could lead to higher fees.’

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BBC News, 22nd October 2020

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Government to pay £2m to settle coronavirus testing case – BBC News

Posted October 8th, 2020 in competition, computer programs, contracting out, coronavirus, news by sally

‘The UK has agreed to settle a lawsuit over how it selected an IT contract for coronavirus testing at its Lighthouse labs.’

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BBC News, 8th October 2020

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Competition watchdog sides with water firms in row over plan to cut household bills – The Guardian

Posted September 30th, 2020 in competition, consumer protection, news, ombudsmen, water, water companies by sally

‘Britain’s competition watchdog has sided with water suppliers in a row over the regulator’s plan to reduce industry revenues in order to cut an average of £50 a year from water bills.’

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The Guardian, 29th September 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

The Supreme Court’s decision in Unwired Planet – what comes next? – Competition Bulletin from Blackstone Chambers

Posted September 21st, 2020 in appeals, competition, intellectual property, jurisdiction, news, patents, Supreme Court, telecommunications by sally

‘The UK Supreme Court has handed down its long-awaited judgment in Unwired Planet. Its decision has profound implications for patent owners and implementers alike and is likely to lead to heavily contested jurisdictional disputes going forward.’

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Competition Bulletin from Blackstone Chambers, 15th September 2020

Source: competitionbulletin.com

The Supreme Court’s decision in Unwired Planet – what comes next? – Competition Bulletin from Blackstone Chambers

Posted September 18th, 2020 in appeals, chambers articles, competition, intellectual property, jurisdiction, news, patents, Supreme Court, telecommunications by sally

‘The UK Supreme Court has handed down its long-awaited judgment in Unwired Planet. Its decision has profound implications for patent owners and implementers alike and is likely to lead to heavily contested jurisdictional disputes going forward.’

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Competition Bulletin from Blackstone Chambers, 15th September

Source: competitionbulletin.com