Sainsbury’s Supermarkets Ltd v MasterCard Inc

Subject Matter

COMPETITION — Restriction or distortion of competition — Anti-competitive agreement — Credit and debit card companies imposing default multilateral interchange fees passed on to merchants when accepting card payments from cardholders — Whether rules of schemes setting default multilateral interchange fees restrictive of competition — Whether exemption available — FEU Treaty, art 101(1)(3)FEU

[2018] EWCA Civ 1536; [2019] Bus LR 198; [2019] 1 All ER 903; [2019] 1 All ER (Comm) 191; [2018] WLR (D) 447, CA

COMPETITION — Restriction or distortion of competition — Anti-competitive agreement — Credit and debit card companies’ payment schemes allowing cardholders’ banks to charge retailers’ banks fee to settle each transaction made using card — Retailers’ banks passing on fee to retailers — Court of Justice holding scheme operating within European Economic Area restrictive of competition — Retailers bringing action in relation to UK schemes — Whether court bound by Court of Justice’s decision to find UK schemes also restrictive of competition — Whether schemes allowing retailer consumers fair share of benefits and therefore within exemption from prohibition on restrictive agreements — Nature of evidence necessary to establish exemption — Whether receiving fair share of benefits — Whether relevant to take into account benefits accruing to cardholders — Degree of precision required in quantification of pass-on of overcharge by retailers — FEU Treaty, art 101(1)(3)FEU

[2020] UKSC 24; [2020] Bus LR 1196; [2020] 4 All ER 807; [2021] 1 All ER (Comm) 283; [2020] WLR (D) 358, SC(E)

COURT OF APPEAL (CIVIL DIVISION) — Remedy — Remittal to lower court — Defendant claiming exemption from liability for anti-competitive practice — Court of Appeal holding type of evidence adduced by defendant at trial incapable of proving exemption and remitting issue for reconsideration — Whether remittal offending principle of finality in litigation — CPR rr 1.2(b), 50.20(2)

[2020] UKSC 24; [2020] Bus LR 1196; [2020] 4 All ER 807; [2021] 1 All ER (Comm) 283; [2020] WLR (D) 358, SC(E)

Appellate History

Commentary

UK Supreme Court Blog
New Judgment: Sainsbury’s Supermarkets Ltd v Visa Europe Services LLC & Ors [2020] UKSC 24 Case comment

Case Comment: Sainsbury’s Supermarkets Ltd v Visa Europe Services LLC and others [2020] UKSC 24 Case comment