Strategic considerations in cartel follow-on litigation

Craig Pouncey - Introduction

Over the last few years, there has been a significant increase in the number of follow-on damages claims based on European Commission (’EC’) cartel decisions. At least in some Member States, we have seen massive damages claims and the costs of such claims have proved to be very significant. Furthermore, the cartel damages landscape is set to change further this year with the implementation of Directive 2014/104/EU on Antitrust Damages Actions (the ’Directive’), as that is expected to lead to a further increase in private enforcement activity, especially in those Member States which have only seen limited activity to date. Therefore, the topic of strategic considerations in follow-on cartel litigation, including the likely impact of the Directive, settlement strategy, experts’ assessment of damages and preparation of the parties at an early stage, is a very timely one.

Michael Dietrich - Strategy at the investigation stage and impact on leniency/settlement decisions