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…
This article discusses the unprecedented Supreme Court judgment rendered on 17 July 2020 that answers the question whether an act of interruption of a limitation period against a general partnership also constitutes the interruption of a limitation period towards its individual partners. Introduction In a recent ruling dated 17 July 2020, the Supreme Court rendered an unprecedented judgment on the application of the statute of limitation on claims against a Dutch general partnership (“vennootschap onder…
The Hamburg Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information (“Hamburg DPA”) imposed a 35.5 million Euro fine on a global fashion company’s subsidiary in Germany for violations of the GDPR. This million Euro fine is the highest fine known in Germany so far. It follows: the 14.5 million Euro fine imposed in October 2019 by the Berlin Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information (“Berlin DPA”) against a real estate company for violating…
In June 2020, the Wirecard-scandal hit the financial markets. The German financial service provider Wirecard AG (“Wirecard”), a DAX 30 company, filed for insolvency after revelations that an amount of EUR 1.9 billion was missing from its books and the auditors had refused to certify Wirecard’s balance sheet. The company’s stock fell more than 70 % in only two days. In the future, books and movies will certainly exploit this scandal: a crime thriller including fake banks on…
An updated (and reportedly final) text for Europe’s new collective redress regime has been adopted. The European Commission published the agreed text of the directive on representative actions for the protection of the collective interests of consumers and repealing Directive 2009/22/EC here. In this article, we consider what is being proposed in this latest draft and what we can expect to happen next. Recap: What has happened so far? On 22 June 2020, the European…
On 19 June 2020, a new Russian law (known as the “Lugovoy Law,” named after its author [1]) enters into force, introducing a number of changes into the Russian Arbitrazh Procedural Code. Most important, Russian state commercial courts (also called “arbitrazh” courts) will now have exclusive jurisdiction over disputes directly or indirectly involving those sanctioned entities that fall within the scope of Russian legislation (“Disputes”). Disputes also include disputes between foreign businesses if these sanctions…
This article discusses the amendments of the dispute resolution proceedings as included in the Dutch legislative proposal for the “Act on the adjustment of the dispute resolution proceedings and clarification of admissibility requirements for inquiry proceedings”. Introduction Shareholder disputes are, unfortunately, not uncommon in the Netherlands. A solution to deal with these disputes can sometimes be found amicably. If not, Dutch statutory law provides for the more formal measures, such as the so-called inquiry proceedings…
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…
In its decision of 18 February 2020, the Swiss Federal Supreme Court (SFSC) reiterated its position that Swiss procedural law requires a concrete substantiation of the facts underlying a party’s claim: a general reference to a detailed expert opinion was considered as insufficient substantiation (Case No. 4A_445/2019 (in German)). Below, we will provide a case summary and a short overview on the particularly rigid substantiation duty under the Swiss civil procedure rules. I. The Swiss substantiation…
Following the European Commission’s decision in February 2018 to fine shipping companies EUR 395 million, consumer rights champion Mark McLaren has launched a class action in the UK Competition Appeal Tribunal (the “Tribunal”).[1] The European Commission found that maritime car carriers fixed prices, rigged bids and allocated the market for roll-on, roll-off (“RoRo”) transport of vehicles. Estimated to be worth £150 million, the follow-on class action is brought on behalf of all persons who purchased…