Laurent Roberval

CA Versailles, 16.03.11, Renault v. FEDA and FNAA, 10/00956 Once again, the commercial war between the big names continued in the courts. In the decision handed down by the Versailles Court of Appeal on 16 March 2011, this time it is not the large food retailers that are involved, but the (...)

Cass. com, March 15, 2011, Foncia Gecovar c/ M. X... and Royale Immo, nº 10-14404 While it is relatively easy to invoke the guarantee of eviction in the case of real estate sales, it is much more difficult to invoke it when the subject matter of the contract concerns a transfer of customers. (...)

Directive 2005/29/EC of 11 May 2005 intended to fully harmonise the rules on unfair commercial practices towards consumers. Member States may therefore not adopt more restrictive measures than those laid down in that text, even with a view to ensuring a greater degree of consumer protection. (...)

The freedom to compete with one’s former business has been at the heart of recent case law activity in unfair competition matters. Since October, no fewer than four cases have dealt with this thorny issue. It is therefore particularly important, in the light of these different solutions, to take (...)

Cass. com, September 14, 2010, Beau rivage c/ MACIF and MAIF, n° 09-14322 Do mutual companies with a non-profit-making activity fall outside the scope of Title IV of Book IV of the Commercial Code? This is essentially the question to which the judges of the Commercial Chamber of the Court of (...)

Law n° 2010-874 of 27 July 2010 on the modernisation of agriculture and fisheries, JORF n° 172 of 27 July 2010, p. 13925 Is the French legislator captive to certain interest groups? The question deserves to be asked in the light of the most recent legislative reforms of Title IV. After a law in (...)

Law n° 2010-853 of 23 July 2010 relating to consular networks, trade, crafts and services, JORF n° 169 of 24 July 2010 (corrigendum, JORF n° 172 of 28 July 2010) Another reform of the summer with the Law of Modernisation of Agriculture and Fisheries, the legislator came to specify the obligation (...)

This set of 3 articles concentrate on the issue of terms of payment as provided by the LME Act. The first contribution deals with the conformity of the French regime with regard to the EC Directive of the 29 June 2000. This study tries to shed light on this problem and in particular on the (...)

Cass. com, November 24, 2009, DDI v. L & S., No. 08-15002, published in the Bulletin Does an e-merchant have a right to critical information about the products he resells? A decision handed down on 24 November 2009 by the Commercial Chamber of the Court of Cassation provides elements of an (...)

– UK Competition Commission, Code of practice on supermarkets’ dealings with suppliers UK Competition Commission, The groceries (supply chain practices) market investigation order, 4 August 2009 (revised on 28 August 2009) Are our English friends losing their legendary phlegm in the face of (...)

Cass. com, March 3, 2009, Société Absolute v/ Société Dipa, n° 08-10.923 Can the new operator of a magazine apply for the liquidation of a periodic penalty payment imposed on its predecessor in order to put an end to an unfair competition practice? This is the question that was put to the judges of (...)

CEPC, Opinion No 08-06 of 19 December 2008 on the legality of practices allegedly implemented by certain distributors with regard to suppliers. The reform carried out by the Economic Modernisation Act No. 2008-776 of 4 August 2008 (LME) raises a number of questions, in particular with regard (...)

Cass. com, 8 July 2008, ITM alimentaire c/ Ministre de l’économie, n° 07-13.350 Cass. com, 8 July 2008, Minister for the Economy v GALEC, No. 07-16.761 The Court of Cassation has put an end to the uncertainty linked to the power of substitution granted to the Minister of the Economy on the basis (...)

Draft Law on the Modernization of the Economy (restrictive practices) As we conclude this section, in early July 2008, the Economic Modernization Act is still before the Senate. It is possible, however, to identify the main trends in this new reform, at least in its trade relations component. (...)

It has become a classic exercise for the Trade Practices Review Commission (TPRB) to rule on the legality of a charter of good practice of private origin. This time it was PRISME, a body bringing together temporary employment professionals, which referred the matter to the Commission for an (...)

On 12 February 2008, Marie-Dominique Hagelsteen presented her report on the negotiability of tariffs and general terms and conditions of sale (see also in this issue the interview with Ms Hagelsteen, under the heading "Interview").. The purpose of this report is to prepare "the implementation (...)

CEPC, Opinion n° 08-02 of 7 February 2008 on practices followed in commercial relations between insurers and body repairers, and its attached charter. The use of codes of conduct to regulate commercial relations is a method used by many States (J. Watin-Augouard, "Codes of conduct: when Europe (...)

Cass. com, 29 January 2008, INBEV v. France boissons, no. 07-13.778. In a ruling handed down on 29 January 2008, the Commercial Chamber of the Court of Cassation, in the context of interim injunction proceedings, had to consider whether a partnership contract was seriously questionable under (...)

Law No. 2008-3 of January 3, 2008 for the development of competition in the service of consumers Law No. 2008-3 for the development of competition at the service of consumers was promulgated on January 3, 2008 (see also the Trends dossier in this issue 1-2008, Chatel Law: A new stage in (...)

Observatoire des pratiques commerciales: 18 months of court decisions available on the site of the Commission d’examen des pratiques commerciales (Report of the Faculty of Law of Montpellier, 2006-2007) The Faculty of Law of Montpellier delivered a new report in the framework of the partnership (...)

Cass. com, 23 October 2007, Transport Norbert Dentressangle v. M. X..., n° 06-14.981 The ruling handed down on 23 October 2007 by the Commercial Chamber of the Court of Cassation is a further illustration of the difficulty of proving the existence of a situation of economic dependence within (...)

In commented opinion No. 07-04 of 14 June 2007, the Commission d’examen des pratiques commerciales (CEPC) attempts to make the link between the tariff differentiation enshrined in Article L. 441-6 of the French Commercial Code (C. com.) of the SME Act of 2 August 2005 and the prohibition of (...)

Report of the Faculty of Law of Montpellier on the Application of Title IV of Book IV of the Commercial Code concerning legal actions at the initiative of economic actors: Assessment of criminal (year 2005) and civil (period from 1 January 2004 to the first half of 2006) court decisions The (...)

CEPC, Opinion No. 07-01 of 12 April 2007 on the framework for tariff differentiation as provided for in Article 41 of the Law of 2 August 2005 in favour of SMEs. The Administration is still considering whether it would be advisable to adopt a decree determining the categories of purchasers who (...)

The question of payment periods under competition law has long been raised without a solution having yet been sketched out (see note J.-P. L. L, Concurrences, No 2-2006, p. 106.). However, far from being fatalistic, the Trade Practices Review Commission (TPRB) does not despair of finding a way (...)

In the context of the fight against abusive commercial cooperation, the DGCCRF once again called into question the responsibility of the central purchasing body of the Leclerc centres, GALEC, and obtained the imposition of a civil fine of 200,000 euros (For a precedent: TC Nanterre, 15 Nov. (...)

Decree No. 2007-257 of 26 February 2007 amending Decree No. 2005-524 of 20 May 2005 establishing the list of agricultural products mentioned in Article L. 441-2-1 of the Commercial Code Bill to regulate payment periods in industrial subcontracting, No. 3627, registered at the Presidency of the (...)

Cass. com, February 20, 2007, Sté Vierzon distribution v/ Minister of the Economy, n° 04-20.449, unpublished In a ruling handed down on 20 February 2007, the Commercial Chamber of the Court of Cassation provided interesting clarifications on the evidence of false commercial cooperation. In this (...)

Cass. com, January 23, 2007, Streck Diffusion v/ société La Redoute, n° 04-16.779 The ruling handed down on 23 January 2007 by the Court of Cassation illustrates the difficulty of reconciling the guiding principles of civil procedure with the exorbitant prerogatives of ordinary law granted to the (...)

DGCCRF, Application du Titre IV du Livre IV du code de commerce - Actions en justice du ministre de l’Économie, Bilan des décisions judiciaires pénales (année 2005) et civiles (période : 1er janvier 2004-1er semestre 2006) 20 December 2006 In the area of restrictive competition practices, where (...)

Criminal Case, 6 December 2006, SCA Centre, No. 06-82.834. In a ruling handed down on 6 December 2006, the Criminal Division of the Court of Cassation gave an extensive interpretation of the formal requirements imposed by Article L. 441-6 al. 5 C. com. which are nevertheless criminally (...)

CA Paris, 5ème ch. A, 8 March 2006, SA Galerie Sainte-Anne In a judgment of 8 March 2006, the Paris Court of Appeal recalled that in order to rely on a situation of economic dependence, even as a defence, it is necessary to prove that one is under an obligation to continue the commercial (...)

CA Angers, Switzerland, February 7, 2006, SARL Proservices c/ SA Orthodis The ruling handed down on 7 February 2006 by the Angers Court of Appeal is instructive not only with regard to compensation for a victim of a multiple violation of the provisions of article L. 442-6 C. com, but also with (...)

CA Versailles, 12th ch. 2, 18 May 2006, SAS Viastel c/ SA Maille Du Pevele The judgment handed down by the Versailles Court of Appeal on 18 May 2006 is of interest for two reasons as regards the application of the provisions of the NRE Law n° 2001-420 of 15 May 2001: on the one hand, it is one (...)

Decree 2006-513 of 4 May 2006 implementing Articles L. 470-4-1 of the French Commercial Code, L. 141-2 and L. 216-11 of the French Consumer Code relating to the settlement of transactions and amending the Consumer Code Ministerial decree of 2 May 2006 amending the decree of 24 May 2005 laying (...)

Cass. com, 25 April 2006, Akzo nobel coating v/ société Bonnot, n° 03-20.353 While the decree implementing the SME Law of 2 August 2005 specifying the conditions for implementing price differentiation is still awaited, the Court of Cassation recalled, in a judgment of 25 April 2006, that (...)

Cass. crim. 4 April 2006, Sonia X..., No. 05-86.290 In a decision of 4 April 2006, the Criminal Division of the Court of Cassation, for the first time to our knowledge, specified the conditions for the application of Article L. 442-8 of the Commercial Code, which makes it a criminal offence to (...)

"The main reason is that it is too blunt an instrument to distinguish between pro-competitive and anti-competitive behaviour". This statement by John Hilke, Chairman and Rapporteur of the OECD Round Table on "Resale below cost and regulation", held on 23 February, sums up the OECD’s current view (...)

TGI Créteil, 16 December 2005, Société Baud v DGCCRF T. com. Angers, 15 February 2006, DGCCRF c/ FINAMO In two recent cases, the DGCCRF has demonstrated its commitment to enforcing trade cooperation legislation. In a first case, it obtained a judgment dated 16 December 2005 from the Créteil (...)

Cass. com, December 6, 2005, SA Sony v. Sté Concurrence, No. 04-19.320 In a ruling handed down on 6 December 2005, one more in the lengthy dispute between Competition and Sony, the Court of Cassation recalled that the trial judges have sovereign power to assess whether services invoiced by a (...)

CA DOUAI, 2nd ch. sect. 1, 13 October 2005, SAS Eurauchan c/ SARL Label Gourmand, n° 04-1971 If the Minister of the Economy can intervene directly on appeal to request the pronouncement of a civil fine even though he did not participate in the first instance, it is only on the condition that he (...)

ECCP, Recommendation No. 05-01 of 21 March 2005 on payment periods and their application. Glais Report, 1 February 2005, Study on payment periods for the CEPC Law No. 2005-882 of 2 August 2005 in favour of small and medium-sized enterprises Late penalties are being misused, a point on which (...)

CA Pau, 21 April 2005, SA Scalandes, n°04/00.970 In the aftermath of the "Sarkozy" agreements and on the eve of the entry into force of a new threshold for resale at a loss, the Court of Appeal of Pau recalls that the prohibition of article L. 442-2 of the Commercial Code is an offence per se (...)

Council Directive (EC) No 04-D-64 of 30 November 2004 on practices in the distribution of household electrical appliances The Council was asked by the Minister of the Economy to examine the legality of certain practices of a central purchasing body. Without going into detail, the latter was (...)

Cass. com, October 5, 2004, Société Rover France v. M. X, No. 02-17.338 Cass. com, 3 November 2004, Société Manitou v/ Société CMG, No. 02-17.919 What role can common law play alongside Title IV of the Commercial Code, which specifically regulates the abusive termination of established commercial (...)

Cass. com, May 12, 2004, Sté ABCG participation c/ Sté Auchan France, n° 01-12.865 In order to assess the brutal nature of the termination of a commercial relationship within the meaning of Article L 442-6, I, 5°, must the courts take into account the state of dependence of the ousted contracting (...)