On 16 October 2019, the daf-mag.fr website published an article written by our firm entitled “Anti-competitive agreement: definition and risks”, which is a reminder that sometimes agreements between companies can distort competition and lead to serious fines.
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In its September 2019 issue, the Revue Lamy de la concurrence publishes an article by Xavier Henry entitled “Selective distribution and refusal to contract: the difficulty of reconciling Metro I case law with exemption regulations” (RLC n° 86 9/19 , p. 31).
In three recent decisions, the Paris Court of Appeal and the French Competition Authority had to examine, under competition law, the validity of a refusal to contract from heads of selective distribution networks to candidates for entry into these networks. In particular, they verified that the refusal to contract did not have an anti-competitive object in the light of the case law resulting from the Metro I judgment of the Court of Justice. However, this research does not seem useful because a refusal to contract which does not constitute a hardcore restriction within the meaning of the applicable vertical restraints exemption regulations is not unlawful in itself. The refusal to contract could possibly only constitute a restriction by effect (which was however not the case in the Court of Appeal’s décisions).
Revue Lamy de la concurrence n° 86 09 19 p. 31 Distribution sélective et refus de contracter
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The law or companies provide a number of guarantees in favour of buyers of goods. Their multiplicity means that litigants may be lost, especially regarding time limits for asserting their rights. An article from our Law Firm published by the website chefdentreprise.com provides an update on this issue.
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Letter n° 13 – Current economic law – June/ July / August 2019 –Newsletter of the law firm Henry & Bricogne.
This newsletter presents a selection of the case law in economic law (June/ July / August 2019).
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Examination of the validity of post-contractual non-competition or non-affiliation clauses in a franchise agreement through an article published by our Firm on the franchise-magazine.com website.
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Since 2008, “significantly unbalanced” clauses in commercial contracts have been prohibited when imposed by the strong party to the contract. Review of this ban, sometimes unknown, which was reformed last April 24 in an article published by our firm on the website chefdentreprise.com
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Few pictures of our presentation for Campus Avocats on July 5, 2019 in the Maison de la Chimie in Paris on the theme “Unbalanced clauses in commercial contracts (Article L. 442-1, I, 2° of the French Commercial Code): inventory of the situation and prospects after the reform of 24 April 2019“.
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The French Competition Authority can enter the premises of companies without warning and seize documents on all media for several hours or even days. Knowing its rights in this kind of situation is essential. Review of the rights of companies in an article of our law firm published by the website chefdentreprise.com
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Letter n° 12 – Current economic law – April / May 2019 –Newsletter of the law firm Henry & Bricogne.
This newsletter presents a selection of the legislation and case law in economic law (April / May 2019).
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In its June issue 2019, the Revue de Jurisprudence de Droit des Affaires (RJDA) publishes a legal article written by Xavier Henry entitled “price control by the judge based on the prohibition of submission to a significant imbalance between the parties: Much ado about nothing ?”
On November 30, 2018, the French Constitutional Council (Conseil constitutionnel) declared that the interpretation of the French Supreme Court (Cour de Cassation) regarding Article L. 442-6, I, 2° (now Article L. 442-1, 2°) of the French Commercial Code that the judge is entitled to control the price agreed by the parties was in accordance with the French Constitution. If this control does not appear so surprising since it is not new under French law, its implementation seems delicate so that the judicial challenge of the price should be exceptional. Moreover, if the Order dated 24 April 2019, which amends ex-article L 442-6, I-2°, will not be of any help on the implementation of the control issue, it could nevertheless broaden the judge’s right to control the price.
Contrôle du prix par le juge – beaucoup de bruit pour rien – RJDA 06 19 p. 523
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