Authored by : By Rosemary Ioannou Senior Counsel, Vannin Capital
And Kenny Henderson Partner, Stewarts Law
Rosemary Ioannou (RI): Have perceptions of
competition litigation changed amongst your clients in recent
years?
Kenny Henderson (KH): Yes, the main changes in
perception are twofold. First, clients increasingly understand that
competition litigation is different to other forms of commercial
litigation. The most important difference is that once the
Commission or the CMA has investigated and found a competition law
infringement, such finding is binding on UK courts (or, as
appropriate, the national courts of other EU states). Where their
claim is within the scope of such finding, claimants do not need to
prove the infringement thereby sidestepping a significant burden.
The only issue for the court should be quantum. Second, large
corporates increasingly view these potential claims as assets to be
recovered. The numbers involved can be very significant,
