Case number and/or case name
Bord Na Mona Horticulture Limited, Bord Na Mona Plc v British Polythene Industries Plc, Combipac BV, Bischof + Klein GmbH & Co, KLS Plast A/S [2012] EWHC 3346 (Comm)
Details of the court
England and Wales, First Instance
Articles referred to by the court
Brussels I
Article 5
Paragraph 1
SubParagraph b
Indent 1
Paragraph 3
Date of the judgement
28 November 2012
CJEU's case law cited by the court
Summary
The claimants were suing for damages caused to them by the competition law infringements committed by the cartel members.
The claimants were Irish companies from the Bord Na Mona group of companies. The claimants had purchased substantial quantities of plastic industrial bags from the defendants (BPI and its subsidiaries including Combipac). The defendants were members of a cartel which was established by a decision of the European Commission. The Commission’s decision was preceded by a leniency application made be the defendants.
The proceedings were initiated under Article 6(1) of Brussels I.
The defendants challenged the English courts’ jurisdiction. The anchor defendant, BPI, applied to strike out the claim, and/or for summary judgment in its favour. If the claim against the anchor defendant had been struck out, then the English court would not have had jurisdiction against the other defendants under Article 6(1).
The English court dismissed the BPI’s strike-out application. Mr Justice Flaux held:
“77 […] if BPI's application fails which I have held it does, there will be jurisdiction under Article 6(1) on the basis that BPI is an “anchor defendant” domiciled in England against whom there is a serious issue to be tried.” [77]