Resume: The Cour de cassation clarifies the application of article L. 442-6, I, 1° of the commercial code to the price reduction obtained from a commercial partner and confirms the application of the law on restrictive competition practices to subcontracting...
What’s up in France?
The temporal delimitation in French law of the application of the non-passing on presumption initiated by the European directive
Resume: In a recent decision (Cass. Com., October 19, 2022, No. 21-19.197), the Court of Cassation ruled on the litigation concerning the application of Directive No. 2014/104 in the context of follow-on actions brought before French courts. The dispute involved a...
Landmark Decision in French Private Enforcement of Competition Law: Clarifying Anticompetitive Damage
Resume: The recent Cour de cassation decision (Cass. Com., June 7, 2023, n°22-10.545, 2 11.099, 22-11.100, B) highlights the evolving focus on harm in private enforcement cases. The case addresses the existence of damage, recognition of the umbrella effect, and...
Continuation of commercial relations: effects of a transfer of assets and judicial control over the length of the notice period
Resume: According to the Cour de cassation, when the new owner of a company's activity breaks off its relationship with a partner who was already working with the company, this previous relationship does not count for the calculation of the notice period in the...
Application of the former Continental Can case law: the return of ex-post control of mergers involving abuse of a dominant position
Resume: In a ruling handed down on March, 16, 2023, the Court of Justice of the European Union applied its earlier Continental Can case law to a reference for a preliminary ruling, stating that a competition authority may review an ex post merger for abuse of a...
Meta’s commitment issues, a focus in the online advertisement industry
Resume: On June 16th, 2022, the French Competition Authority accepted the remedies offered by Meta regarding exclusionary conducts the undertaking had had in the online Display advertisement sector. The Authority had expressed competition concerns in its preliminary...
The tricky demonstration of the excessive nature of prices implemented by a de facto monopoly company
Resume: In its decision of July 7, 2021 n° 19-25.586 and n°19-25.602, the commercial chamber of the Court of Cassation ruled on the assessment of the excessive nature of the prices implemented by an undertaking in a dominant position. In doing so, the Court confirmed...
Strict interpretation of commitments: The Paris Court of Appeal overturns the decision of the French Competition Authority condemning PMU for non-compliance with its commitments
Resume: Insisting on the need to precisely define the commitments in light of the competition concerns identified, the Paris Court of Appeal has, for the first time, overturned in its entirety a decision of the French Competition Authority which had condemned the...
Exclusionary practices in a liberalized market: the European Court of Justice gives a new interpretation of the application of Article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union
Resume: With each decision, the Court refines its interpretation of the application of Article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. This decision was the occasion for the Court to provide a developed interpretation of an abuse in a liberalized...
Abuse of dominant position: the use by a company of his historical position to create confusion at the benefice of his subsidiary
Resume: The French Competition Authority condemned the company Audiens Santé Prévoyance (hereafter Audiens SP) for abuse of dominance in the sector of collective supplementary social protection for entertainment workers, by reaffirming that for a company in a dominant...