THE LITIGATOR – Review of Competition Law – April 2007

Contributors: Michael Osborne , Jennifer Cantwell, Kyle Peterson , Sonny Ingram, Michael Binetti, and Adam Wygodny

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Appeal court revises test for abuse of dominant position
In identifying anti-competitive acts, one must ask whether the conduct had an intended predatory, exclusionary or disciplinary effect on a competitor, not on competition, the Federal Court of Appeal held in overturning the Tribunal’s 2005 finding that Canada Pipe’s rebate program was not anti-competitive….

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CONTRIBUTORS: MEREDITH HAYWARD, KENNETH DEKKER, PAUL EMERSON, KYLE PETERSON,AND ADAM WYGODNY

SUPREME COURT OF CANADA CONFIRMS LITIGATION PRIVILEGE OF LIMITED DURATION

In its first review of the lifespan of litigation privilege, the Supreme Court of Canada has recently ruled that, unlike solicitor-client privilege, it…

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CONTRIBUTORS: MICHAEL OSBORNE, JENNIFER CANTWELL, KYLE PETERSON, KENNETH DEKKER, PAUL EMERSON AND STEPHANIE GABOR

UNFAIR INTERCORPORATE TRANSACTIONS OPPRESSED FORD CANADA SHAREHOLDERS

An unfair intercorporate transfer price system in place between Ford Motor Company of Canada and its US parent, Ford Motor Company,…

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Contributors: Michael Osborne , Jennifer Cantwell, Paul Emerson, Angela Yadav, Sonny Ingram, and Michael Binetti

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Rona keeps Sherbrooke store
In May, the Competition Tribunal rescinded a September 2003 consent agreement, allowing home improvement retailer Rona Inc. to keep the Sherbrooke , Quebec store it agreed to sell to gain Bureau approval of its acquisition of Réno-Dépot. The Tribunal found that Home Depot’s imminent arrival was a change in the circumstances that led to the consent agreement, and that the agreement would not have been made in the present circumstances. The Tribunal rejected the Commissioner’s arguments that it should refuse to rescind the agreement as a matter of discretion.

The Tribunal’s decision is the first time that the Competition Act’s variation / rescission provision (s. 106) has been applied to a consent agreement. Because consent agreements are negotiated and made by the parties, not the Tribunal, the Tribunal must look to the intentions of the parties. The Tribunal also emphasized that the Commissioner must be responsive to changing circumstances.

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CONTRIBUTING AUTHORS: MICHAEL OSBORNE, HARRY MCMURTRY, KENNETH DEKKER

DOES WORLD WIDE WEB MEAN WORLDWIDE LIABILITY FOR CYBER LIBEL?

The internet’s nature as a medium that is at once everywhere and nowhere leads to difficulties in applying traditional tests for jurisdiction. Courts in…

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