Damages estimation for alleged abuse of dominance in the market for electricity distribution

Lear assisted one of the main distributors in the Italian electricity market in developing defensive strategies apt to rebut the accusations of abuse of dominance made by three different companies active in the retail electricity market. In three of these cases, Lear assisted its client in developing a defensive strategy against the competitors’ accusation regarding alleged illegal and oppressive requests, which eventually allegedly put the competitor in financial distress or even drove it out of the market. In one case, Lear’s defensive strategy was based on the proof that not only were these requests legal by contractual terms, but also that the competitors were in such a poor economic and financial condition that they would have gone bankrupt anyway. In the second claim, according to the claimant, Lear’s client has taken advantage of its dominant position in the market of electricity distribution and has illicitly requested payments that have caused severe damages to the financial situation of the competitor. Lear’s defensive strategy aimed to disprove the rationale behind the exorbitant assessment of damages developed by the competitor. In the third case, the Lear proved that its client’s requests for payments were legitimate, as well as the resolution of the contract that followed claimant’s inability to pay such amounts. Finally, in the context of one of the claims, Paolo Buccirossi and Alessia Marrazzo are acting as the party’s economic expert to work along the court appointed expert to revise the damage quantification.