Class certification hearings – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted March 6th, 2017 in class actions, competition, damages, news, third parties, tribunals by sally

‘After a wait of more than a year from the introduction of class actions in the UK, there were two class certification hearings before the UK’s Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) in just over a month. Although in each case the CAT has yet to hand down its certification decision, the hearings have given some clear signals about how the CAT sees the regime.’

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Law Society’s Gazette, 6th March 2017

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Landline charges for 2m customers to be cut as telecoms watchdog steps in – The Guardian

Posted March 2nd, 2017 in competition, consumer protection, elderly, news, telecommunications by sally

‘Ofcom has slammed telecom providers for offering landline-only customers poor value for money, as it unveiled plans to force BT, the dominant provider, to cut bills by at least £5 a month, benefiting about 2.3 million people.’

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The Guardian, 28th February 2017

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox to formally notify EU of Sky bid – The Guardian

Posted March 1st, 2017 in competition, EC law, media, news, public interest by sally

‘Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox is expected to formally notify the European competition regulator of its £11.7bn takeover offer for Sky later this week, after which the UK culture secretary will have to decide whether to launch an investigation into the extent of Murdoch’s control of UK media.’

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The Guardian, 1st March 2017

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Watchdog forces BT to cut 2m users’ phone bills by £5 per month – Daily Telegraph

Posted February 28th, 2017 in competition, elderly, news, telecommunications by tracey

‘Watchdog Ofcom will force BT to cut phone bills of 2m customers by at least £5 per month, saying competition has failed a “vulnerable” group of elderly customers.’

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Daily Telegraph, 28th February 2017

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

“Our legal services will stay on top”, minister declares in face of growing threat of competition post-Brexit – Legal Futures

Posted February 15th, 2017 in brexit, competition, EC law, legal services, news, referendums by sally

‘Justice minister Sir Oliver Heald has struck a bullish tone of defiance in response to concerns that Germany and the Netherlands are creating English-language commercial courts to compete with the UK for disputes post Brexit.’

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Legal Futures, 13th February 2017

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Brexit and implications for UK Merger Control – Part 2/3: Implications for the CMA’s workload and what not to do – Competition Bulletin from Blackstone Chambers

Posted February 15th, 2017 in brexit, competition, EC law, mergers, news, referendums by sally

‘The Competition Bulletin is pleased to welcome the second in a three-part series of blogs on Brexit and merger control by Ben Forbes and Mat Hughes of AlixPartners. Ben and Mat are (with others) co-authors of the new Sweet & Maxwell book, “UK Merger Control: Law and Practice”.’

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Competition Bulletin from Blackstone Chambers, 10th February 2017

Source: www.competitionbulletin.com

Brexit and implications for UK Merger Control – Part 1/3: Should UK merger control filings be mandatory? – Competition Bulletin from Blackstone Chambers

Posted January 24th, 2017 in brexit, competition, EC law, mergers, news, treaties by sally

‘The Competition Bulletin is pleased to welcome the first in a three-part series of blogs on Brexit and merger control by Ben Forbes and Mat Hughes of AlixPartners.’

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Competition Bulletin from Blackstone Chambers, 23rd January 2017

Source: www.competitionbulletin.com

Ticket resale websites run risk of fines after CMA launches inquiry – The Guardian

Posted December 20th, 2016 in competition, consumer protection, inquiries, internet, news by sally

‘Ticket resale websites and the touts who use them could be fined after the competition watchdog launched an investigation into how the best seats are harvested and then sold on at huge mark-ups before fans can buy them at face value.’

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The Guardian, 19th December 2016

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Model agencies fined £1.5m by competition watchdog for price-fixing – The Independent

Posted December 19th, 2016 in competition, fines, news, price fixing by sally

‘Modelling agencies who have represented clients including Cara Delevingne and Kate Moss have been fined a total of £1.5 million for price-fixing, the competition watchdog said today.’

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The Independent, 16th December 2016

Source: www.independent.co.uk

CMA responses: Law Society and SRA at odds, but McKenzie Friends are happy – Legal Futures

Posted December 16th, 2016 in competition, legal profession, legal services, McKenzie friends, news by tracey

‘The Competition and Market Authority’s (CMA) report on legal services yesterday provoked a predictably mixed response that pitted the Law Society against the Solicitors Regulation Authority, and found support from the body representing paid McKenzie Friends.’

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Legal Futures, 16th May 2016

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

CMA final report: demand for better price and service transparency from law firms, and review of legal regulation – Legal Futures

Posted December 15th, 2016 in competition, law firms, legal services, press releases, reports by tracey

‘Regulators need to deliver a “step change in standards of transparency” so that lawyers’ clients can both understand the price and service they will receive, and compare providers, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said today.’

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Full CMA press release

Legal Futures, 15th December 2016

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Pfizer fined record £84.2m for overcharging NHS – BBC News

Posted December 7th, 2016 in competition, fines, medicines, news by tracey

‘Drugs giant Pfizer has been fined a record £84.2m by the UK’s competition watchdog for overcharging the NHS for an anti-epilepsy drug.’

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BBC News, 7th December 2016

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Unfair care home practices examined by watchdog – BBC News

Posted December 5th, 2016 in care homes, competition, news by sally

‘A review of the UK’s care home market is being launched by the competition watchdog to see if residents are being treated fairly.’

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BBC News, 2nd December 2016

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Competition Law claims post-Brexit: the issue of applicable law – Blackstone Chambers

Posted December 1st, 2016 in brexit, competition, EC law, news, treaties by sally

‘Once notification is given by the UK Government of its intention to withdraw from the European Union under Article 50 TFEU, EU law will cease to apply in the UK after the expiry of two years (absent an agreement between all 28 Member States extending the relevant period). What then happens to the UK’s competition law regime, which is closely intertwined with EU law, both substantively and procedurally?’

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Blackstone Chambers, 22nd November 2016

Source: www.blackstonechambers.com

Islands of jurisdiction for competition damages claims in a post-Brexit world – Blackstone Chambers

Posted December 1st, 2016 in brexit, competition, damages, EC law, jurisdiction, news, treaties by sally

‘When the UK leaves the EU, the rules governing jurisdiction in cross-border competition damages claims will likely change. Most immediately, this will impact those who had acquired pre-Brexit causes of action for breach of statutory duty under section 2(1) of the European Communities Act 1972, based on Articles 101 and Articles 102 TFEU. The doctrine of acquired rights would preserve such causes of action;[1] but it is unlikely to preserve EU rules of jurisdiction in relation to them. Thereafter, the changes will impact those able to establish post-Brexit causes of action based on foreign laws, as Kieron Beal QC has explained. In either case, Claimants may wish to establish English jurisdiction, including as against EU domiciled defendants. This post considers some of the issues likely to be encountered.’

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Blackstone Chambers, 22nd November 2016

Source: www.blackstonechambers.com

Ofcom pushes ahead with legal separation of BT from Openreach – Daily Telegraph

Posted November 29th, 2016 in competition, EC law, internet, news, telecommunications by sally

‘Ofcom will order BT to legally separate from its Openreach network after the company failed to address “competition concerns” voluntarily.’

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Daily Telegraph, 29th November 2016

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

EU ruling should help clarify legitimacy of online platform bans, says UK competition regulator – OUT-LAW.com

Posted November 18th, 2016 in competition, EC law, electronic commerce, internet, news by sally

‘A case before the EU’s highest court should help clarify whether online platform bans should automatically be considered as breaching competition laws, a UK competition regulator has said.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 17th November 2016

Source: www.out-law.com

BREXIT: Hard Brexit will bring £1.2 billion hit to British importers, says study – OUT-LAW.com

Posted November 16th, 2016 in agreements, brexit, competition, EC law, international trade, news, reports, treaties by sally

‘Losing access to the EU’s trade agreements would cost UK importers an extra £1.2 billion a year, according to research conducted on behalf of the Open Britain campaign.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 15th November 2016

Source: www.out-law.com

Tribunal starts hearing competition law action brought against Law Society – Legal Futures

‘The Competition Appeal Tribunal will today begin hearing a training provider’s claim that the Law Society acted anti-competitively by requiring law firms to buy its own training in order to maintain their Conveyancing Quality Scheme (CQS) accreditation.’

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Legal Futures, 8th November 2016

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Court “does not have to accept” parties’ agreement not to budget – Litigation Futures

Posted November 8th, 2016 in appeals, budgets, civil procedure rules, competition, costs, news, tribunals by sally

‘A High Court judge has made it clear that the court is not required to go along with parties who agree to dispense with costs management.’

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Litigation Futures, 7th November 2016

Source: www.litigationfutures.com