Competition Litigation 2012
Transcription
Competition Litigation 2012
The International Comparative Legal Guide to: Competition Litigation 2012 A practical cross-border insight into competition litigation work Published by Global Legal Group, in association with CDR, with contributions from: ICLG ACCURA Advokatpartnerselskab Allen & Overy Luxembourg Allende & Brea Alston & Bird LLP Arnold Bloch Leibler Ashurst LLP Beiten Burkhardt bpv Hügel Rechtsanwälte OG Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP Dittmar & Indrenius D.N. Tzouganatos & Partners Drew & Napier LLC Eugene F. Collins Solicitors Gernandt & Danielsson Gianni, Origoni, Grippo & Partners J. Sagar Associates Lellos P. Demetriades Law Office, LLC Linklaters LLP Motieka & Audzevicius Müggenburg, Gorches, Peñalosa y Sepúlveda, S.C. Muscat Azzopardi & Associates Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu Oppenheim Pels Rijcken & Droogleever Fortuijn Sérvulo & Associados Shin & Kim SJ Berwin LLP Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP TGC Corporate Lawyers Vasil Kisil & Partners Walder Wyss Ltd. The International Comparative Legal Guide to: Competition Litigation 2012 General Chapter: 1 The European Commission's White Paper on Damages Actions: The English Experience Arundel McDougall, James Levy & Lauren Bernard, Ashurst LLP 1 Country Question and Answer Chapters: Contributing Editors 2 Argentina Allende & Brea: Julián Peña & Federico Rossi 11 3 Australia Arnold Bloch Leibler: Zaven Mardirossian & Matthew Lees 15 Monica Fuertes, Dror Levy, Florjan Osmani, Oliver Smith, Rory Smith, Toni Wyatt 4 Austria bpv Hügel Rechtsanwälte OG: Astrid Ablasser-Neuhuber & Florian Neumayr 21 5 Belgium Linklaters LLP: Françoise Lefèvre & Xavier Taton 27 6 Canada Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP: Chris Hersh & Imran Ahmad 32 Sub Editors 7 Cyprus Lellos P. Demetriades Law Office, LLC: Olga Georgiades 38 8 Denmark ACCURA Advokatpartnerselskab: Jesper Fabricius & Christina Heiberg-Grevy 43 9 England & Wales Ashurst LLP: Arundel McDougall & James Levy Arundel McDougall & James Levy, Ashurst LLP Account Managers Suzie Kidd Jodie Mablin Senior Editor Penny Smale 48 10 European Union Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP: Ingrid Vandenborre & Managing Editor Nikolaos M. Peristerakis 57 11 Finland Dittmar & Indrenius: Hanna Laurila & Toni Kalliokoski 63 George Archer 12 France SJ Berwin LLP: Marc Lévy & Natasha Tardif 69 Publisher 13 Germany Beiten Burkhardt: Philipp Cotta & Dr. Holger Peres 75 14 Greece D.N. Tzouganatos & Partners: Stamatis Drakakakis 80 15 Hungary Oppenheim: Gábor Fejes & Zoltán Marosi 85 16 India J. Sagar Associates: Amitabh Kumar & Mansoor Ali Shoket 91 17 Ireland Eugene F. Collins Solicitors: Joanne Finn & Ronan O’Neill 96 18 Italy Gianni, Origoni, Grippo & Partners: Piero Fattori & Michele Carpagnano 102 19 Japan Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu: Eriko Watanabe & Koki Yanagisawa 108 F&F Studio Design 20 Korea Shin & Kim: Hyun Ah Kim & John Hyouk Choi 114 GLG Cover Image Source 21 Lithuania Motieka & Audzevicius: Ramūnas Audzevičius & Tomas Samulevičius 119 22 Luxembourg Allen & Overy Luxembourg: Gabriel Bleser 125 23 Malta Muscat Azzopardi & Associates: Dr. Clayton Fenech & Lynne Satariano 129 24 Mexico Müggenburg, Gorches, Peñalosa y Sepúlveda, S.C.: Esteban Gorches Alan Falach Deputy Publisher Richard Firth Published by Global Legal Group Ltd. 59 Tanner Street London SE1 3PL, UK Tel: +44 20 7367 0720 Fax: +44 20 7407 5255 Email: [email protected] URL: www.glgroup.co.uk GLG Cover Design iStockphoto Printed by Ashford Colour Press Ltd September 2011 Copyright © 2011 Global Legal Group Ltd. All rights reserved No photocopying ISBN 978-1-908070-07-4 ISSN 1757-2819 & Alfonso Sepúlveda 25 Netherlands 133 Pels Rijcken & Droogleever Fortuijn: Berend Jan Drijber & Willem Heemskerk 139 26 Poland TGC Corporate Lawyers: Beata Ordowska & Adam Dękierowski 144 27 Portugal Sérvulo & Associados: Miguel Gorjão-Henriques & Miguel Sousa Ferro 149 28 Singapore Drew & Napier LLC: Cavinder Bull S.C. & Scott Clements 155 29 Slovakia TGC Corporate Lawyers: Christian Fielding & Kristína Sýkorová 161 30 Spain SJ Berwin LLP: Ramón García Gallardo & Manuel Bermúdez Caballero 165 31 Sweden Gernandt & Danielsson: Ola Wiklund & Rolf Larsson 173 32 Switzerland Walder Wyss Ltd.: Reto Jacobs & Gion Giger 177 33 Ukraine Vasil Kisil & Partners: Oleksiy Filatov & Oleksandr Mamunya 182 34 USA Alston & Bird LLP: Adam J. Biegel & Donald M. Houser 187 Further copies of this book and others in the series can be ordered from the publisher. Please call +44 20 7367 0720 Disclaimer This publication is for general information purposes only. It does not purport to provide comprehensive full legal or other advice. Global Legal Group Ltd. and the contributors accept no responsibility for losses that may arise from reliance upon information contained in this publication. This publication is intended to give an indication of legal issues upon which you may need advice. Full legal advice should be taken from a qualified professional when dealing with specific situations. www.ICLG.co.uk Chapter 13 Germany Philipp Cotta Beiten Burkhardt 1 General 1.1 Dr. Holger Peres 1.5 Please identify the scope of claims that may be brought in Germany for breach of competition law. The following claims may be brought for breach of competition law in Germany: 1. damage claims; 2. claims for supply (of certain goods); 3. claims for remediation; and 4. claim to cease and desist. 1.2 What is the legal basis for bringing an action for breach of competition law? As far as German law is applicable, actions for breach of competition law are generally brought on the basis of Sec. 33 of the Act against Restraints of Competition (ARC). Sec. 33 ARC sets out specific tort rules for antitrust infringements, in particular the obligation to remediate and, in case of recurrence, to refrain from infringements of competition law, as well as the obligation to compensate damages resulting from such infringements. In order to bring an action for breach of competition law, the relevant person (plaintiff) has to be affected by the infringement (Sec. 33 (1) ARC). In this context, a “person” can be a natural or legal person. As a result, actions can be brought by competitors and other market participants affected by the infringement, such as customers, including consumers, or suppliers. Furthermore, claims may also be asserted by associations with legal capacity for the promotion of commercial or independent professional interests. However, Sec. 33 (2) ARC contains some restrictions: the relevant association must have a significant number of members selling goods and services of a similar or related type on the same market, the interests of its members must be affected by the infringement and it must have the human, material and financial resources to pursue commercial or independent professional interests. Class actions or similar means of collective redress are generally not available in Germany. There are some exceptions however: In addition, the general rules of tort law set out in the German Civil Code (CC) are applicable. 1.3 A collective claim to get injunctive relief (Unterlassungsanspruch) is available to associations as described above. It is possible to bring an action in one’s own name but on another person’s behalf (Prozessstandschaft), in case there is a legitimate interest for such a proceeding or a person is entitled to it by law. Is the legal basis for competition law claims derived from international, national or regional law? The legal basis for competition law claims is primarily derived from the national law provisions of the ARC and CC. However, claims under Sec. 33 ARC expressly also cover infringements of the European law provisions of Art. 101 and 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). 1.4 Are there specialist courts in Germany to which competition law cases are assigned? There are no specialist courts in Germany to which private competition cases are assigned. However, many civil courts have specialised chambers to handle competition law cases. This is usually the case with chambers for commercial law at the Regional Courts (Landgerichte). For appeals against decisions of the Federal Cartel Office (FCO), a special jurisdiction of the cartel senates of the Düsseldorf Court of Appeal (Oberlandesgericht) applies. Who has standing to bring an action for breach of competition law and what are the available mechanisms for multiple claimants? For instance, is there a possibility of collective claims, class actions, actions by representative bodies or any other form of public interest litigation? According to recent case law, it is possible for potential claimants to bundle their damage claims by assigning them to one person who then brings forward the claim in his own name, with the intention to distribute a portion of the proceeds of a successful action to the assignors. 1.6 What jurisdictional factors will determine whether a court is entitled to take on a competition law claim? In Germany the Regional Courts have exclusive jurisdiction for any civil litigation, based on an infringement of the ARC or Art. 101, 102 TFEU (Sec. 87 ARC). In addition, Sec. 89 ARC entitles the Federal States (Bundesländer) to concentrate the jurisdiction for civil litigation arising from competition law infringements within a small number of their Regional Courts. Most Federal States have made use of this provision. Other jurisdictional factors are that a claim must have some tie with ICLG TO: COMPETITION LITIGATION 2012 © Published and reproduced with kind permission by Global Legal Group Ltd, London WWW.ICLG.CO.UK 75 Germany Beiten Burkhardt the region of the respective Regional Court. This may be for example the defendant’s principle place of business or the territory in which the infringement occurred. If a cartel infringement has an effect throughout the German territory, civil claims may be brought at any Regional Court in Germany within the limits of concentration according Sec. 89 ARC (see above). 1.7 In general, civil proceedings are adversarial in Germany, but certain rights are granted to the judges by the Code of Civil Procedure (CCP). In Regional Courts civil claims are usually heard and decided by a panel of three judges. The panel may transfer simple cases to a single judge. The court leads the proceedings and plays a very active role; witnesses are interrogated mainly by the judges (the parties and their attorneys may ask additional questions after the witnesses have been questioned by the court). The court decides – although normally with the consent of the parties – which experts will be heard and assesses the evidence they have taken during the hearing. 2.1 Are interim remedies available in competition law cases? On a limited basis interim remedies are available in German competition law cases. 2.2 What interim remedies are available and under what conditions will a court grant them? As an interim remedy, prohibitory orders (prohibition of certain anticompetitive behaviour) and orders to provide services or goods (so far mainly granted in the energy sector) are possible. A German court will grant an interim remedy provided that the plaintiff is able to: (i) present prima facie evidence showing that he is entitled to a certain claim or right; (ii) show the urgency of the case; and (iii) demonstrate that he would suffer severe or even irreversible disadvantages in case the remedy is not granted. If the application is successful, the court will issue an interim injunction (einstweilige Verfügung) according to its discretion, Sec. 935, 940 CCP. 3 Final Remedies 3.1 that this violation is causal for the plaintiff’s loss. In order to demand restitution of a contract, the plaintiff only has to show the anticompetitive behaviour of the defendant. Since normally the goods exchanged can not be refunded, the defendant then has to show that the payment he has received in execution of the contract is free of any anticompetitive effects. In some cases, however, it may be possible to rescind the contract for deceit. Is the judicial process adversarial or inquisitorial? 2 Interim Remedies Please identify the final remedies which may be available and describe in each case the tests which a court will apply in deciding whether to grant such a remedy. The remedies available are prohibitory orders, orders to provide services and/or goods, damages and restitution. In order to obtain a prohibitory order the plaintiff has to show that he is - or is about to be - affected by an ongoing infringement of competition law by the defendant. If the defendant has already ceased his anticompetitive behaviour, only declaratory judgments, damages or restitution are available. Orders to supply services or goods are awarded if the defendant’s refusal to deal with the plaintiff is to be considered an abuse of a strong or dominant market position. In order to obtain damages the plaintiff has to demonstrate that the defendant has infringed competition law by fault and 76 Germany WWW.ICLG.CO.UK 3.2 If damages are an available remedy, on what bases can a court determine the amount of the award? Are exemplary damages available? Damages are awarded in the form of restitution in kind (Naturalrestitution) or as monetary compensation. The amount to be awarded is calculated on the basis of a comparison between the actual situation of the plaintiff taking into account the infringement of competition law by the defendant and the hypothetical situation without the infringing action of the defendant. Thereby the loss of the plaintiff may also include loss of profit, reduction in assets, loss of chance (if there is evidence for probable success) and even moral damages (in case they have an economic value). The defendant also has to pay interests from the date of the occurrence of the loss. The courts are entitled to estimate the actual amount to be awarded on the basis of suitable market information supplied by the plaintiff. Such information can e.g. be a comparison between the market data during, before and after the infringement but also expert econometric analysis. Furthermore, according to Sec. 33 (3) ARC the court can take into account the proportion of the profit which the defendant has derived from the infringement. Exemplary and punitive damages are not available in Germany. 3.3 Are fines imposed by competition authorities taken into account by the court when calculating the award? No, fines imposed by competition authorities are not taken into account. Only the awarded damages are taken into account if the FCO has skimmed off the economic benefit prior to the damage action. In that case the FCO will reimburse the respective amounts to the defendant in order to avoid a duplication of compensation payments by the defendant. 4 Evidence 4.1 What is the standard of proof? The court must be convinced of all facts necessary for the particular claim. Conviction thereby means a high level of plausibility or practical certainty (a degree of certainty useable for practical life) which prevails over remaining doubts. The conviction may also be based on circumstantial evidence. As already pointed out above, the amount of damages may be estimated, if the plaintiff has established that loss has actually been suffered as a result of the infringement. 4.2 Who bears the evidential burden of proof? As a general rule of German civil proceedings the burden of proof for all facts justifying the claim is on the side of the claimant. However, there are several exceptions in the context of civil cartel actions. If, for example, an infringement of competition law has been established by a final decision of the FCO, the EU ICLG TO: COMPETITION LITIGATION 2012 © Published and reproduced with kind permission by Global Legal Group Ltd, London Beiten Burkhardt Furthermore, the plaintiff does not have the burden of proof for certain facts in case a legal presumption is provided by substantive law. German antitrust law provides several of these presumptions, e.g. regarding the abuse of a dominant position: there is a statutory presumption that e.g. a single undertaking with a market share of at least one third commands a dominant market position. In this case, the burden of proof is shifted to the defendant. He may prove the absence of dominance, e.g. that substantial competition is maintained in the market or its market position is not dominant in relation to competitors. In certain cases of price fixing and quota cartels, case law suggests that if a cartel was practiced intensely over a longer time period, there is some prima facie evidence of an economic damage for purchasers which may be rebutted by the defendant. 4.3 parties in cartel cases. Following a recent decision of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in the Pfleiderer case, it is for the national courts to determine the conditions under which third party access to leniency documents should be allowed or refused. To date no authoritative decision of a German court exists on this point. 4.5 Witnesses can be forced to appear. Sec. 380 CCP provides the necessary legal basis for such a court order. If the witness repeatedly refuses to appear, the court can order him to be brought in by the police. Cross-examination is not practiced in civil proceedings in Germany. This is due to the fact that the witness has the right to make a coherent statement and is examined by the judge first. The parties can only bring forward supplementary questions after the judge has finished his examination. 4.6 Are there limitations on the forms of evidence which may be put forward by either side? Is expert evidence accepted by the courts? Yes, in civil court proceedings only the following evidence is admissible: experts; witnesses; documents; inspection by the court; and interrogation of the parties. The interrogation of the parties is considered to be a subsidiary form of evidence only permissible in special cases, e.g. if other evidence is not available. Can witnesses be forced to appear? To what extent, if any, is cross-examination of witnesses possible? Does an infringement decision by a national or international competition authority, or an authority from another country, have probative value as to liability and enable claimants to pursue follow-on claims for damages in the courts? A final infringement decision by the FCO, the EU Commission, the competition authority of another EU Member State or a court acting as such, has a binding effect on the civil court handling a follow-on damage claim (Sec. 33 (4) ARC). The same applies to findings in final judgments resulting from an appeal of the aforementioned decisions. Expert evidence is admissible and often used in competition cases to assess overcharges. Experts may also assist the parties in proving their claims before and during the trial. The court is free to consider expert opinions submitted by the parties and may also appoint an independent expert to assist on specific factual questions which are beyond the knowledge and experience of the judges. In case remedies other than damages are sought, the courts will usually take into account these findings, although they are not legally bound to do so. 4.4 In Germany all information brought before court is disclosed to the other party at least. Due to the constitutional right to be heard (rechtliches Gehör), which also includes the right to comment on all facts, documents and information presented to the court by the other party, business secrets are not protected against disclosure to the other party. However, witnesses are allowed to refuse to answer questions in case the answer would lead to a direct economic damage (Sec. 384 CCP). What are the rules on disclosure? What, if any, documents can be obtained: (i) before proceedings have begun; (ii) during proceedings from the other party; and (iii) from third parties (including competition authorities)? German civil procedural law does not provide for pre-trial or other discovery procedures. The power of the court to enforce the submission of evidence or take evidence not previously offered by a party is limited in Germany. Although the court can issue an order to submit documents or other objects according to Sec. 142 and 144 CCP vis-à-vis parties and third persons, this is limited to documents to which one of the parties has made a reference. Furthermore, if a party - other than a third person - refuses to present these documents, it can not be forced to do so. The only consequence is that the court can preclude the party from relying on connected allegations. A party can only be forced to present documents where an obligation under substantive law exists (Sec. 422 CCP). However, the German ARC does not provide for such an obligation. On the basis of criminal procedural law (Sec. 406 e Code of Criminal Procedure), the parties, however, can claim access to the files of the FCO. Also the court may request the submission of documents and other information from the FCO files. As a national authority, the FCO is generally obliged to provide administrative assistance to German courts. It is currently unclear whether this obligation also applies to leniency applications submitted by the Germany Commission, the competition authority of another EU Member State or a court acting as such, the civil court handling the damage claim is bound by that decision and the plaintiff does not have to present any further evidence in this regard (Sec. 33 (4) ARC). However, the binding effect only applies to the fact that an infringement has taken place and does not relate to the question of whether a damage has been caused by the infringement. Germany 4.7 How would courts deal with issues of commercial confidentiality that may arise in competition proceedings? With regard to the general public, however, business secrets are well protected against disclosure by Sec. 172, 174 Constitution of Courts Act. According to these provisions, the general public can be excluded from the hearing in case of business secrets being presented and discussed. The general public has to be excluded during the interrogation of witnesses upon the request of one of the parties. 5 Justification / Defences 5.1 Is a defence of justification/public interest available? A defence of justification is available, e.g. in cases of abuse of a dominant market position and other discriminatory behaviour. In cases of restrictive practices (Art. 101 TFEU para. 1 and Sec. 1 ARC), the defendant may argue that the restriction of competition ICLG TO: COMPETITION LITIGATION 2012 © Published and reproduced with kind permission by Global Legal Group Ltd, London WWW.ICLG.CO.UK 77 Beiten Burkhardt Germany is exempt under Art. 101 TFEU para. 3 or Sec. 2 ARC. A defence of public interest is extremely unlikely in a competition case. Furthermore, the provisions of the ARC, giving the minister of economic affairs the right to exclude certain agreements and decisions from the application of the antitrust provisions, have been eliminated. 5.2 Is the “passing on defence” available and do indirect purchasers have legal standing to sue? The passing-on defence is generally available under German law. In the course of the draft of the latest amendment to the ARC, the German government considered to exclude it by law but left it to the courts to find an applicable solution. In a recent decision, the Federal Court of Justice has now clarified this point and held that the passing-on defence is available in particular to avoid unjust enrichment of the direct purchaser who has not suffered any damage. In the same decision, the Federal Court of Justice confirmed that indirect purchasers are entitled to claim damages from the cartel infringer. This is in line with the majority interpretation of the wording of Sec. 33 ARC, which proclaims remedies for every person affected. 6 Timing 6.1 Is there a limitation period for bringing a claim for breach of competition law, and if so how long is it and when does it start to run? Yes, there is a limitation period. According to Sec. 195, 199 Civil Code, it starts at the moment the damaged party becomes aware – or should reasonably become aware – of the damage and the identity of the infringer, and lasts for three years. In case the damaged party has no knowledge of the damage and/or the infringer, Sec. 199 (3) CC rules that the limitation period is the shorter of either 10 years from the date the damage occurred or 30 years from the date of the infringement. However, the limitation period for a claim is suspended in case proceedings are initiated by the FCO or the European Commission or any other cartel authority of any Member State regarding a violation of the ARC or Art. 101, 102 TFEU. 6.2 Broadly speaking, how long does a typical breach of competition law claim take to bring to trial and final judgment? Is it possible to expedite proceedings? The duration of a breach of competition law claim will mainly depend upon the workload of the court, the complexity of the matter, the number of briefs exchanged, the number of experts introduced by the parties or the court and last but not least the willingness of the parties to swiftly proceed. Nevertheless, a term of one year should at least be calculated for each court instance in cases of average complexity. It is impossible to expedite court proceedings, since it is to the court’s discretion to manage and organise the proceedings. It is possible, however, to expedite proceedings by settlement or by trying to obtain interim relief (see above section 2). Germany 7 Settlement 7.1 Do parties require the permission of the court to discontinue breach of competition law claims (for example if a settlement is reached)? No. Only the plaintiff requires consent of the defendant to withdraw a claim once the matter has been heard before court (Sec. 269 (1) CCP). 8 Costs 8.1 Can the claimant/defendant recover its legal costs from the unsuccessful party? In general, the losing party has to bear the court fees. The successful party can generally recover its legal costs. However, “necessary” attorneys’ fees can only be recovered within the limits of the German Attorneys’ Fee Act (AFA). The AFA determines the attorney’s fee in relation to the amount in dispute. If attorneys’ fees are charged on an hourly basis, the recoverable costs under the AFA often do not compensate the actual attorney fees. 8.2 Are lawyers permitted to act on a contingency fee basis? Contingency fees have traditionally been prohibited for German attorneys. Only since 2008, following a decision of the Federal Constitutional Court, contingency fees have been allowed in certain exceptional cases where the plaintiff otherwise would not have brought forward his claim in court at all. Examples are lack of financial resources on the plaintiff’s side or reasonable unwillingness to bear the cost risk. In all other cases, contingency fees remain prohibited by law. 8.3 Is third party funding of competition law claims permitted? Yes it is. In the context of the current cement cartel case, companies have emerged which offer financing for antitrust actions in return for a share of the damage granted. 9 Appeal 9.1 Can decisions of the court be appealed? Yes. Decisions of the court of first instance can be appealed especially if the amount in dispute is in excess of EUR 600 (Berufung). The decisions of the Court of Appeals can be reviewed by the Federal Court of Justice in case the Court of Appeals or the Federal Court of Justice allows it (Revision). 10 Leniency 10.1 Is leniency offered by a national competition authority in Germany? If so, is (a) a successful and (b) an unsuccessful applicant for leniency given immunity from civil claims? The FCO offers a leniency regime. Further information regarding the leniency programme of the FCO can be obtained from the 78 WWW.ICLG.CO.UK ICLG TO: COMPETITION LITIGATION 2012 © Published and reproduced with kind permission by Global Legal Group Ltd, London Germany FCO’s website in English (www.bundeskartellamt.de). However, the leniency programme has no effect on civil damage actions. Neither a successful nor an unsuccessful applicant is given immunity from civil damage claims. 10.2 Is (a) a successful and (b) an unsuccessful applicant for leniency permitted to withhold evidence disclosed by it when obtaining leniency in any subsequent court proceedings? permitted to withhold evidence in a court proceeding because of his leniency application. However, the FCO has withheld leniency applications vis-à-vis third parties pending a judicial decision. In the Pfleiderer case the Local Court of Bonn (Amtsgericht) has referred a matter focusing on these questions to the European Court of Justice (ECJ). The ECJ has recently decided that it is up to the national courts to determine the scope of protection of leniency applications in national cartel proceedings. The outcome of this question for Germany is still open. Germany Beiten Burkhardt Neither a successful nor an unsuccessful applicant for leniency is Philipp Cotta, LL.M. Prof. Dr. Holger Peres Beiten Burkhardt Ganghoferstrasse 33 80339 München Germany Beiten Burkhardt Ganghoferstrasse 33 80339 München Germany Tel: Fax: Email: URL: Tel: Fax: Email: URL: +49 89 35065 1342 +49 89 35065 2132 [email protected] www.beitenburkhardt.com Philipp Cotta is a partner in the Munich office of Beiten Burkhardt. He heads the German antitrust practice and advises clients on German and EU merger control, cartels and other competition matters. His antitrust experience covers a wide range of industries and sectors. Recently his work focussed on the representation of clients in the LPG and the fire engine cartel cases. Philipp Cotta studied law at LMU Munich and obtained an LL.M.-degree from London School of Economics and Political Science (London University). He is a member of the German Antitrust Lawyers Society (Studienvereinigung Kartellrecht) and the International Bar Association. +49 89 35065 1332 +49 89 35065 2150 [email protected] www.beitenburkhardt.com Holger Peres is a partner in the Munich office of Beiten Burkhardt. He heads the national and international Litigation, Arbitration & Mediation practice. Holger Peres advises clients on litigation, national and international arbitration and ADR procedures. He has extensive experience in M&A transactions, (re-)structuring matters and the representations of claimants in the meeting of creditors (insolvency proceedings). Holger Peres’ recent work focussed on national and international arbitration and mediation. He studied law at LMU Munich and obtained a doctorate in the law of evidence. Holger Peres teaches law at the University of Munich and as a Professor at the European University Viadrina in Frankfurt (Oder). He is a member of the German Institution of Arbitration (DIS) and the International Bar Association. BEITEN BURKHARDT is an independent international commercial law firm with a focused range of services and some 320 attorneys working in 12 locations. Through our long-established offices in Germany, Brussels, China and Eastern Europe we advise clients from a wide range of industries, financial institutions as well as the public sector on transactions, disputes and all other aspects of business and public law. Our international Competition Group with over 20 specialists covers all aspects of competition and antitrust law, including the representation of clients in cartel proceedings and follow-on actions. In competition litigation cases our Competition Group is complemented by our international Litigation, Arbitration & Mediation practice with over 30 attorneys and extensive expertise in complex commercial and civil litigation and arbitration. Further information is available at www.beitenburkhardt.com ICLG TO: COMPETITION LITIGATION 2012 © Published and reproduced with kind permission by Global Legal Group Ltd, London WWW.ICLG.CO.UK 79 The International Comparative Legal Guide to: Competition Litigation 2012 Other titles in the ICLG series include: Business Crime Cartels & Leniency Class & Group Actions Commodities and Trade Law Corporate Governance Corporate Recovery & Insolvency Corporate Tax Dominance Employment & Labour Law Enforcement of Competition Law Environment & Climate Change Law Gas Regulation Insurance & Reinsurance International Arbitration Litigation & Dispute Resolution Merger Control Mergers & Acquisitions Patents PFI / PPP Projects Pharmaceutical Advertising Private Client Law Product Liability Project Finance Public Procurement Real Estate Securitisation Telecommunication Laws and Regulations Trademarks To order a copy of a publication, please contact: Global Legal Group 59 Tanner Street London SE1 3PL United Kingdom Tel: +44 20 7367 0720 Fax: +44 20 7407 5255 Email: [email protected] www.ICLG.co.uk