Antitrust enforcement heightened in Europe: antitrust is alive and well overseas. British court decision could encourage private parties to seek damages.U.S. franchisors operating in Europe may have been lulled into a false sense of security about the possible application of antitrust rules to their European operations. Perhaps this is the natural result of so much media attention on the European Commission's attack on Microsoft, General Electric, Sony and other corporate behemoths. However, several recent developments in Europe provide sharp reminders to smaller companies that antitrust is alive and well overseas. One such example of interest to franchisors about antitrust compliance is a European court's recent decision striking down a "freezer exclusivity" clause imposed by an Irish ice cream producer. The producer had a policy of providing free freezers to retailers, so long as the retailers displayed only the producer's ice cream in the freezers. After a competing ice cream producer complained, the court found that this distribution restriction infringed EU antitrust law antitrust law Any law restricting business practices that are considered unfair or monopolistic. Among U.S. laws, the best known is the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890, which declared illegal “every contract, combination…or conspiracy in restraint of trade or , even though the retailers were allowed to market other ice cream brands This is a list of ice cream brands currently in production around the world.
The "Big Bang big bang Model of the origin of the universe, which holds that it emerged from a state of extremely high temperature and density in an explosive expansion 10 billion–15 billion years ago. " A more significant development is what antitrust lawyers are calling the "Big Bang." On May 1, 2004, the modernization of Europe's antitrust regime came into force, and the European Union European Union (EU), name given since the ratification (Nov., 1993) of the Treaty of European Union, or Maastricht Treaty, to the European Community expanded from 15 to 25 members. A key component of the modernization is the decentralization de·cen·tral·ize v. de·cen·tral·ized, de·cen·tral·iz·ing, de·cen·tral·iz·es v.tr. 1. To distribute the administrative functions or powers of (a central authority) among several local authorities. of EU antitrust law enforcement. Prior to May 1, the European Commission effectively had exclusive jurisdiction over most antitrust matters. Now, national courts and regulators will also have enforcement authority, and there will be simultaneous application of EU and national competition laws. Unlike EU law, many of the national laws provide for private rights of action and permit private parties to obtain damages and injunctive relief. Accordingly, in addition to government enforcement actions, it is expected that the new rules will open the door to more private antitrust litigation An action brought in court to enforce a particular right. The act or process of bringing a lawsuit in and of itself; a judicial contest; any dispute. When a person begins a civil lawsuit, the person enters into a process called litigation. in Europe. Decision May Encourage Lawsuits A timely reminder of why franchisors should be concerned about private antitrust suits is the decision issued by a British court on May 21, 2004. A pub owner had challenged a tying requirement that forced the pub to buy most of its beer supplies from a single supplier at inflated prices. The court, for the first time in the United Kingdom The United Kingdom uses Greenwich Mean Time (UTC) and British Summer Time (UTC+1). The UK used Local Mean Time until railway timetabling gradually established the two standards of Greenwich Mean Time and Dublin Mean Time (). These were legally adopted in 1880. , awarded damages to a private litigant litigant n. any party to a lawsuit. This means plaintiff, defendant, petitioner, respondent, cross-complainant, and cross-defendant, but not a witness or attorney. LITIGANT. One engaged in a suit; one fond of litigation. who was a party to a contract that violated British antitrust law. Many observers now believe that this decision will encourage other private parties to seek antitrust damages. Steven Feirman and Philip Zeidman are partners of the law firm, Piper Rudnick. They can be reached at steven.feirman@piperrudnick.com and philip.zeidman@piperrudnick.com, respectively. |
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