Recent CAT judgments yield lessons on the collection and submission of economic evidence

The authors provide an economist’s perspective on recent decisions from the Competition Appeal Tribunal.

Key rulings in Compare the Market, Royal Mail and Gormsen are establishing standards for estimating damages and setting precedents for two-sided platforms and ‘by effect’ allegations. In this article, authors Anca Cojoc, Liam Colley and Vikram Kumar discuss:

• Market definition in two-sided platforms and the extent to which standard SSNIP tests capture the substitutability of products for a given group of customers, yet might fail to properly define competitive constraints, especially when one side has a zero price
• Challenges arising from deploying econometric analyses to estimate overcharge and pass-on
• Challenges getting the class action certified and ensuring that the right methodology is proposed for estimating damages for the class

This article was published in Global Competition Review (GCR)’s Europe, Middle East and Africa Antitrust Review in June 2023.