House of Lords Overturns Landmark Inntrepreneur v Crehan case
On July 18, Britain’s House of Lords overturned the Court of Appeal’s decision in Inntrepreneur Pub Company and others v Crehan, the first case in which a UK court awarded damages for harm suffered as a result of a competition law infringement. As a result, there is now no longer any UK law precedent in which damages for loss suffered as a result of an infringement of competition law have been awarded.
The decision in the long-running dispute, Inntrepreneur Pub Company and others v Crehan, overturns the earlier decision in which the Court of Appeal awarded Crehan £131,336 in damages. However, the High Court found that the beer tie-in system, which Crehan challenged as anti-competitive, did not infringe Article 81 of the EC Treaty, which prohibits anti-competitive agreements, and Crehan was not entitled to any damages.
This final instalment of the 15 year long Crehan saga generated even greater uncertainty into commencing private competition law enforcement actions before UK courts in general and, in particular, in circumstances where the defendant is not the addressee of a Commission infringement decision. Such uncertainty may well discourage third parties suffering losses as a result of a breach of competition law from taking action in the future.
Authored by
Nicholas Wetzler
202-589-1835
nwetzler@dbmlawgroup.com
