THE CIVIL COURT OF MILAN DISMISSES A DAMAGES CLAIM CONCERNING THE MOBILE TELECOMMUNICATIONS MARKET

On 15 September 2022, the Civil Court of Milan rejected in its entirety a claim brought by Iliad, seeking compensation for the damages allegedly caused by a competitor’s unfair market conduct, and condemned the claimant to pay the litigation expenses. The full judgement was issued in April 2023.

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The Civil Court of Rome dismisses a damages claim concerning the market for cleaning services

On 17 March 2023, the Civil Court of Rome rejected in its entirety a claim brought by Romeo Gestioni, seeking compensation for the damages allegedly caused by an agreement in the market for cleaning services. The matter stems from an investigation by the Italian Competition Authority which had found that four companies active in this market had coordinated their bidding behaviour in tenders organized by the government to secure cleaning services for schools across Italy.

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Support study for DG Comp for the revision of the Railway Guidelines

Lear, together with E.CA Economics, Sheppard Mullin and University of East Anglia, was appointed by the European Commission to carry out a study to assist in the revision the Community guidelines on State aid for railway undertakings. The study addresses four areas: the status of rail infrastructure; accessibility and costs pertaining to rolling stock; profitability and demand elasticity of rail freight services; and effectiveness of State support measures.
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Lear Competition Festival 2023

We are pleased to announce the 2023 edition of the Lear Competition Festival, #LCF23, with exciting news!

Be part of this new edition of the Lear Competition Festival, where academics and practitioners discuss cutting-edge topics in the field of competition law and economics. During plenary and parallel sessions, you will have the opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of specific #antitrust concerns and network with key actors in the competition field.
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Exploring aspects of the state of competition in the EU for DG COMP

Lear is the leader of a consortium comprising E.CA Economics, Fideres, Kantar Public, Prometeia and University of East Anglia, which was appointed by the European Commission to carry out a study exploring certain aspects of the state of competition in the European Union. Read more

The Italian Competition Authority finds that revised remuneration system for “not-on-us” ATM withdrawal violates competition law

The Italian Competition Authority (ICA) found that a project to change the remuneration model for “not-on-us” ATM withdrawals on the Bancomat network violated Article 101 TFEU. Lear assisted some member banks of the Bancomat network that opposed the project. The current remuneration system provides for an interchange fee paid by the “issuing” bank to the “acquirer”, while the acquirer cannot charge a direct fee. In contrast, the project presented by Bancomat provides for a direct fee to the cardholder. Read more

ICA’s decision on the Apple/Amazon agreement set aside by the administrative tribunal

The Administrative Tribunal of Lazio (TAR) has annulled the decision by the Italian Competition Authority (ICA) whereby Amazon and Apple had been found to have breached competition law. The case concerned an agreement between Amazon and Apple whereby the number of third party sellers allowed to operate on the Amazon Marketplace to sell Apple products was restricted; according to the ICA, this amounted to an horizontal agreement seeking to soften intra-brand price competition in the sale of Apple products to divert sales towards Apple’s online store. Read more

Job opportunity at Lear!

Lear is looking for a Junior Consultant and a Consultant to support its existing staff on the delivery of their current portfolio of work and to build on the continuing success and growth of the business. We offer a permanent position starting in early 2023. Read more

LCF 22 – Detection of Killer acquisitions session managed by Lear

How can we empirically measure the phenomenon of killer acquisitions? How can national competition authorities effectively detect them? Is there any other competitive concern other than the potential competition narrative? Read more

#LCF2022 – VIDEOS ARE NOW ONLINE!

The second edition of the Lear Competition Festival (LCF)  has come to an end. We are extremely satisfied with how it turned out and we are very happy with the quality of the debate. 
You can access to the videos of the 3-day festival here. 👉 https://bit.ly/3VgBgEt