CAT accused of conducting ‘mini trial’ in MasterCard CPO hearing

Louise Freeman spoke with Commercial Dispute Resolution about the Competition Appeal Tribunal class action case against Mastercard. Ms. Freeman says the Court of Appeal has sent “a clear signal that the CAT applied too high a bar in its assessment of the application for a CPO”, which will “impact the assessment of both this application when it returns to the CAT but also other upcoming applications for CPOs, in relation to the Trucks Cartel and rail fares.”

On the issue of distribution, she said, “The Court of Appeal appears to have been influenced in this regard by the fact that, if the appeal was not allowed, consumers would have suffered widespread loss for which no claim would be brought.”