In brief On 24 May 2022, the Dutch Supreme Court passed judgment between, on one hand, the Royal Dutch Shell PLC and 15 of Shell’s in-house lawyers (“Shell”), and on the other hand, the Dutch Public Prosecution Service.[1] The Supreme Court held that both Shell’s and the Public Prosecution Service’s complaints were inadmissible because the decision of the court of first instance should be considered as an ‘interim decision’ (in Dutch: ‘tussenbeschikking’), and interim decisions are not…
This article discusses the judgment of the Amsterdam District Court issued on 29 December 2021 that clarifies certain admissibility requirements for representatives claiming damages under the Settling of Large-scale Losses or Damage (Class Actions) Act (WAMCA). Introduction On 29 December 2020, the Amsterdam District Court handed down a judgment providing new insights on admissibility requirements for representatives claiming damages under the Settling of Large-scale Losses or Damage (Class Actions) Act (Wet Afwikkeling Massaschade in Collectieve…
In a judgment handed down this week by its Grand Chamber, the European Court of Justice (“ECJ”) decided that, under certain circumstances, a subsidiary can be held liable for cartel activity engaged by its parent company. This judgment has potentially far-reaching consequences and may give an additional impetus to private damages litigation. Background On 24 October 2019, Sumal (an alleged victim of the Trucks cartel) brought a claim for damages in follow-on litigation in front of…
The UK Supreme Court gave its judgment in Mastercard Incorporated and others (Appellants) v Walter Hugh Merricks CBE (Respondent) [UKSC 2019/0118] on 11 December 2020. It confirmed the decision made by the Court of Appeal that a representative applying for certification of a class must show that they have a method with a realistic prospect of assessing loss across the whole class and that the data required to apply that methodology is likely to be…
The UK Supreme Court gave its judgment in Mastercard Incorporated and others (Appellants) v Walter Hugh Merricks CBE (Respondent) [UKSC 2019/0118] on 11 December 2020. It confirmed the decision made by the Court of Appeal that a representative applying for certification of a class must show that they have a method with a realistic prospect of assessing loss across the whole class and that the data required to apply that methodology is likely to be…
Join Baker McKenzie for a webinar on âLooking Ahead: Class Actions and Consumer Claims in 2021â to be held on Thursday, 14 January 2021 at 14:00 UK / 15:00 CET. The rapid expansion of class actions outside of the US has brought new risks for global multinationals and a renewed need to consider strategies when defending against claims across jurisdictions. A panel of international specialists from Baker McKenzie, along with our guest speaker, Andrew Hildreth, Senior Managing Director of Ankura,…
Join Baker McKenzie for a webinar on “Looking Ahead: Class Actions and Consumer Claims in 2021” to be held on Thursday, 14 January 2021 at 14:00 UK / 15:00 CET. The rapid expansion of class actions outside of the US has brought new risks for global multinationals and a renewed need to consider strategies when defending against claims across jurisdictions. A panel of international specialists from Baker McKenzie, along with our guest speaker, Andrew Hildreth, Senior Managing Director…
On 24 November, the European Parliament approved the final text of the EU Representative Actions Directive. The approved directive will enter into force 20 days after its publication in the EU’s Official Journal. Member States will then have 24 months to transpose the directive into national law and an extra six months in which to implement it. The new rules will apply to representative actions brought on or after its date of application. Although Member…
Although the imposition of fines is a significant – and, perhaps, the most obvious – risk for parties involved in a competition law violation, it is not the only risk associated therewith. Even if no fine – or a fine of EUR 0 – is imposed on a party, it may still wish to bring actions against the infringement decision to mitigate other potentially adverse consequences. The Dutch Trade and Industry Appeals Tribunal (College van…
The global outbreak of the Corona virus (Covid-19) is having a disruptive effect on businesses, individuals and the society at large. The outbreak also effects the ability of many businesses to (continue to) perform their obligations under commercial contracts. In this publication, we discuss the legal implications of the Corona virus outbreak on performance under commercial contracts which are governed by Dutch law. Specifically, we distinguish between commercial contracts that contain specific provisions on which…