Damage actions for competition law violations

Area of expertise

Those harmed by the anticompetitive conduct of others can pursue damage claims in civil court (often referred to as “private enforcement” or “damage actions”). Damage claims can be based upon, for example, a price-fixing agreement which resulted in higher prices than would have been offered had the cartelists competed.

The possibility to claim damages does not depend upon whether the President of the Office for Competition and Consumer Protection (“UOKiK”) or the European Commission issued a decision charging an abuse of dominance or an anti-competitive agreement. Claimants can file damage action based upon the evidence they have collected and without regard to whether a Competition Authority has opened an investigation.

Poland implemented the EU Damage Directive by enacting the Act of April 21, 2017 on claims for compensation for damage resulting from infringement of competition law (the “Damage Action Act”). This Act introduces a new, simplified procedure for obtaining evidence in competition civil litigation cases.

The Damage Action Act establishes a rebuttable presumption that any competition law infringement in Poland or wider within the EU results in harm.

Experience

Our Firm works with clients who have suffered damage through the actions of a cartelist or dominant company, as well as with companies defending themselves in such private damage cases.

The Firm is unquestionably experienced in identifying evidence, collecting data and calculating damages connected with competition law infringements. In many litigations, we work with antitrust economists.

Our Firm provided comprehensive legal support to a major mining company by collecting and analysing the facts and documents, to the extent available, referred to in a UOKiK’s decision (at the time the damage action was filed, there was no legally final UOKiK decision), as well as the evidence collected in other related investigations. The Firm’s litigators collected the evidence, prepared a complaint and worked with an economist on the level of damages sought.

Our Firm represents a payment card company, who is a defendant in a private action case in Poland.

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