The tribunal also found that applying limitations under English law does not breach the EU principle that it is essential for anyone harmed by competition law infringement to bring a claim for damages.
Historical Context and Legal Journey
This case marks the first mass consumer action under the U.K.’s collective action regime, introduced in 2015 under the Consumer Rights Act to help individuals recover losses from competition law violations. The tribunal initially refused to approve the claim in 2017, expressing concerns about assessing consumer losses. However, the U.K. Supreme Court overturned this decision in December 2020, endorsing a more lenient standard for determining whether an antitrust case merits collective status.
Mastercard Time Barred Claims : Reactions from Parties
A Mastercard spokesperson stated that Wednesday’s decision “reinforces what we have maintained since this case was first filed — Mr. Merricks’ claim is fundamentally flawed and should be thrown out entirely.” Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP, representing Mastercard, said the CAT “has found emphatically for Mastercard on the limitation issues that were before it, which it has described as ‘undoubtedly of great practical significance’ to these proceedings.”
