12.04.2021 NL law De Hoge Raad maakt einde aan onzekerheid over rangwijziging van pandrechten Short Reads - Afgelopen vrijdag (9 april 2021) heeft de Hoge Raad duidelijkheid verschaft over de voor de praktijk belangrijke vraag of voor pandrechten een rangwijziging mogelijk is. Anders dan bij hypotheekrechten bestond hierover, door gebrek aan een wettelijke regeling, onduidelijkheid voor pandrechten. Read more Team: Katelijne Ribbink, Robert Steeg
01.04.2021 NL law ECJ in Pometon: beware of too much info in staggered hybrid proceedings Short Reads - In hybrid cartel proceedings (in which one party opts out of settlement), settlement decisions should not pre-judge the outcome of the Commission's investigation into non-settling parties. When the Commission publishes the settlement decision before the decision imposing a fine on the non-settling party, it must be careful in its drafting, the European Court of Justice confirmed. Furthermore, differences in the fining methodology applied to (similarly placed) settling and non-settling parties will have to be objectively justified and sufficiently reasoned. Read more Team: Marina Chernenko, Simone Evans
01.04.2021 NL law Slovak Telekom: ECJ on essentials of the ‘essential facilities’ doctrine Short Reads - Only dominant companies with a “genuinely tight grip” on the market can be forced to grant rivals access to their infrastructure. According to the ECJ’s rulings in Slovak Telekom and Deutsche Telekom, it is only in this scenario that the question of indispensability of the access for rivals comes into play. In the assessment of practices other than access refusal, indispensability may be indicative of a potential abuse of a dominant position, but is not a required condition. Read more Team: Floris ten Have, Simone Evans
01.04.2021 NL law Collective action stopped due to lack of benefit for class members Short Reads - On 9 December 2020, the Amsterdam District Court (the “Court”) declared a foundation inadmissible in a collective action regarding alleged manipulation of LIBOR, EURIBOR and other interest rate benchmarks. The foundation sought declaratory judgments that Rabobank, UBS, Lloyds Bank and ICAP (the “defendants”) had engaged in wrongful conduct and unjust enrichment vis-à-vis the class members. Read more Team: Jeroen Kortmann, Kaj Privé
01.04.2021 NL law Pay-for-delay saga ends with nothing new; but pharma quest continues Short Reads - On 25 March 2021, the ECJ ended the Lundbeck pay-for-delay saga by dismissing the appeals from Lundbeck and five generic manufacturers against a European Commission ‘pay-for-delay’ decision. Following its recent Paroxetine judgment, the ECJ found that Lundbeck’s process patents did not preclude generic companies being viewed as potential competitors, particularly since the patents did not represent an insurmountable barrier to entry. In addition, the patent settlement agreements constituted infringements "by object". Read more Team: Floris ten Have, Maria Cabrera
01.04.2021 NL law Court bundles educational publishers merger off to ACM for reassessment Short Reads - Digital mergers have steered competition authorities away from their usual mantra of structural over behavioural remedies. The Rotterdam District Court recently gave its blessing to the ACM’s remedies for securing access to a digital school platform. This behavioural approach could become more common, particularly when dealing with the ACM. Read more Team: Floris ten Have, Simone Evans