The Court of Appeal unanimously allowed an appeal by the Deckers UK Limited ("Deckers") and overturned the Tribunal's judgment in [2024] CAT 61 (the "Tribunal Judgment"). In doing so, the Court of Appeal found that:
- The Tribunal applied the wrong test for a by object infringement in the Tribunal Judgment. The Tribunal was said to have focussed too much on the objective and/or purpose of the agreement and failed to adequately consider other aspects such as the content of the agreement and the legal and economic context.
- On the facts as found by the Tribunal, there was no basis to conclude that termination by Deckers had the object of restricting competition. The Court of Appeal found that it was an inevitable inference that Deckers' conduct could not have exerted a sufficiently adverse effect on competition in the markets identified in the Tribunal Judgment.
- The vertical block exemption applied because the impugned restrictions did not amount to a hardcore restriction (either in terms of hardcore resale price maintenance or as a restriction on passive sales within a selective distribution system).
The Court of Appeal allowed the appeal and reached its findings on the facts found by the Tribunal and chose not to remit the matter to the Tribunal.
