Status
Claim for damages under section 47A of the Competition Act 1998 based on the decision of the European Commission dated 19 December 2007 relating to a proceeding under Article 81 of the EC Treaty and Article 53 of the EEA Agreement (COMP/34.579 MasterCard, COMP/36.518 EuroCommerce and COMP/38.580 Commercial Cards).
An application for permission to serve the claim form out of the jurisdiction on two defendants was heard on 24 March 2015. A ruling was given on 22 April 2015 ([2015] CAT 7); on that date the President also made an order with directions consequent upon the ruling. Pursuant to those directions, an amended claim form was filed on 16 June 2016. An application by the Defendants to contest the jurisdiction of the Tribunal was filed on 5 September 2016.
A joint case management conference with Cases 1264, 1265 and 1268 listed for 9 October 2017 was vacated. On 9 October 2017 the President made an order giving case management directions for the joint hearing of the Defendants’ application with the equivalent applications in Cases 1264, 1265 and 1268. A joint case management conference with Cases 1264, 1265 and 1268 listed for 8 March 2018 was vacated.
A joint hearing with Cases 1264, 1265 and 1268 on a preliminary issue took place on 8 and 9 October 2018. On 14 February 2019, the Tribunal handed down its judgment on that preliminary issue. The Tribunal dismissed the application by the defendants asserting that claims in relation to the period from 22 May 1992 to 20 June 2003 were time-barred pursuant to Rule 31(4) of the Competition Appeal Tribunal Rules 2003 and section 32 of the Limitation Act 1980 ([2019] CAT 5).
On 9 April 2019 the Tribunal gave a ruling in relation to the Defendants’ application for permission to appeal the Tribunal’s judgment of 14 February 2019 and costs ([2019] CAT 10). In that ruling the Tribunal, inter alia, granted permission to appeal in relation to the first proposed ground of appeal (concerning the proper interpretation of the Tribunal Rules) but refused permission in relation to second proposed ground of appeal (regarding the application of section 32(1)(b) of the Limitation Act 1980).
On 23 April 2019 the Defendants renewed their application for permission to appeal before the Court of Appeal in respect of the second proposed ground and permission to appeal was granted.
By Order of the President dated 9 January 2020 the proceedings were stayed until 28 days after the Court of Appeal’s judgment.
The appeal was heard by the Court of Appeal on 28 and 29 April 2020. Judgment was handed down on 22 May 2020 ([2020] EWCA Civ 671).
The claim in these proceedings was withdrawn by consent on 28 October 2021.
