An analysis of the CAT case-law on private damages actions following the Supreme Court in Merricks

This is an exciting time to be involved in competition law litigation in the UK. There are numerous claims before the specialist competition court in the UK and, in particular, it is notable that we are witnessing a surge in applications under the new consumer collective opt-out redress provisions introduced by the Consumer Rights Act 2015.

This article surveys the case-law of the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) in relation to private damages actions in the UK after the seminal ruling by the Supreme Court in December 2020 in the ‘ongoing’ Merricks litigation in relation to Mastercard and Visa. First the article will provide an outline of the background legislative context for damages actions before the CAT, and discuss the Supreme Court’s judgment in Merricks. The main focus of the article will be to provide a comprehensive overview of the CAT’s rulings and judgments in the period since the Merricks ruling, including any subsequent appeals from the CAT’s rulings, up and until the end of August 2023. In particular, the article will discuss in greater detail those judgments in which the CAT has considered applications for Collective Proceedings Orders (CPOs) before making some concluding remarks on recurrent themes and issues in the case-law.