The UK Competition Appeal Tribunal narrows the scope of follow-on claims (Emerson Electric / Carbone)

On March 21, 2011, the U.K. Competition Appeal Tribunal (the “CAT”) struck out a follow-on claim for damages brought by Emerson Electric and others (“Emerson”) against Le Carbone (Great Britain) Ltd (“Carbone GB”) under Section 47A of the Competition Act 1998 (the “Competition Act”). [1] The CAT held that the claim could not proceed because Carbone GB was not an addressee of the European Commission’s 2003 infringement decision (the “Decision”), [2] and that the claim would thus not be a true “follow-on” claim for the purposes of the Competition Act (i.e., liability against Carbone GB would need to be proved). The judgment seems to circumscribe further the circumstances in which the CAT will allow a cartel claim to proceed. In practice, it seems that the CAT will only hear cartel claims