Status
An application to commence opt-out collective proceedings, under section 47B of the Competition Act 1998 (“the Act”), by Commercial and Interregional Card Claims II Limited (“CICC II”) against (1) Mastercard Incorporated; (2) Mastercard International Incorporated; (3) Mastercard Europe SA (formerly known as Mastercard Europe SPRL); (4) Mastercard/Europay UK Limited; (5) Mastercard UK Management Services Limited; and (6) Mastercard Europe Services Limited (together, “Mastercard” or “the Proposed Defendants”). The proposed collective proceedings would combine standalone claims against the Proposed Defendants for loss and damage caused by alleged breaches of statutory duty in infringing the Chapter I Prohibition and/or Article 101 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.
A case management conference in Cases 1441, 1442, 1443 and 1444 took place on 13 December 2022 where the Tribunal gave directions for the future conduct of the proceedings, including that the applications for a collective proceedings order ("CPO Applications") in Cases 1441-1444 shall be case managed together. At the case management conference, the Proposed Defendants sought clarifications from the Tribunal regarding communications with proposed class members and sought disclosure. The Tribunal issued its ruling in relation to these on 13 January 2023 ([2023] CAT 1).
The hearing of the CPO Applications in Cases 1441-1444 took place on 3-5 April 2023. On 8 June 2023 the Tribunal issued its decision ([2023] CAT 38).
On 15 September 2023, the Proposed Class Representatives in Cases 1441-1444 filed revised funding arrangements in respect of the proposed opt-out collective proceedings against the Mastercard and Visa Proposed Defendants. A hearing to consider the enforceability of the Proposed Class Representatives' funding arrangements was held on 10 November 2023.
On 17 January 2024, the Tribunal handed down its Judgment ([2024] CAT 3) regarding the enforceability of the Proposed Class Representatives' funding arrangement. On 3 March 2024, the Tribunal handed down its Judgement ([2024] CAT 16) regarding permission to appeal the Judgment [2024] CAT 3.
The hearing of the Revised CPO Applications in Cases 1441-1444 took place on 18-19 April 2024. On 7 June 2024, the Tribunal issued its Judgment on the Revised Application ([2024] CAT 39), indicating its intention to grant the Revised Application. On 9 August 2024, the Tribunal made the Collective Proceedings Orders authorising the Applicant to act as the Class Representative in the proceedings.
The CICC CPOs were designated as Host Cases in the Merchant Interchange Fee Umbrella Proceedings as regards the Ubiquitous Matter of Acquirer Pass-on. The second portion of Trial 2 in the Merchant Interchange Fee concerning acquirer pass-on took place from 24 March 2025 for a period of two weeks.
