Dune Group Limited & Ors. v Visa Europe Limited & Ors

Dune Group Limited & Ors. v Visa Europe Limited & Ors

The Court held that, following the introduction of the Interchange Fee Regulation, it is at least seriously arguable that the appropriate counterfactual for assessing the competitive effects of MIFs is no longer necessarily settlement at par, but may be the Unilateral Interchange Fee Model or a pure bilaterals model, as proposed by Visa and Mastercard. The CAT was correct to refuse summary judgment for post-IFR MIFs and inter-regional MIFs, as Visa and Mastercard have real prospects of defending the claims. The acquisition of Visa Europe by Visa Inc does not provide an arguable defence, as the agreement or concerted practice persists and remains restrictive of competition. However, Visa...

Parties
Claimants/appellants: Dune Group Limited and others; Defendant/respondent: Visa Europe Limited; Defendant/respondent: Visa Europe Services LLC; Defendant/respondent: Visa UK Limited; Defendant/respondent: Mastercard Incorporated; Defendant/respondent: Mastercard International Incorporated; Defendant/respondent: Mastercard Europe SA; Defendant/respondent: Mastercard/Europay UK Limited
Jurisdiction
England and Wales
Judgment Date
04 October 2022
Procedural Posture
Civil Appeal / Appeal From Competition Appeal Tribunal
Outcome
Appeal dismissed in part, cross-appeal dismissed in part, Visa permitted to defend inter-regional MIF claims on limited grounds
Legal Topics
Multilateral Interchange Fees, Restriction of Competition, Article 101 TFEU, Competition Act 1998, Counterfactual Analysis, Summary Judgment
Competition Law Commercial Law Multilateral Interchange Fees Restriction of Competition Article 101 TFEU Competition Act 1998 Counterfactual Analysis Summary Judgment

Case Brief

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Parties

Dune Group Limited and others

Claimants/appellants

Visa Europe Limited

Defendant/respondent

Visa Europe Services LLC

Defendant/respondent

Visa UK Limited

Defendant/respondent

Mastercard Incorporated

Defendant/respondent

Mastercard International Incorporated

Defendant/respondent

Mastercard Europe SA

Defendant/respondent

Mastercard/Europay UK Limited

Defendant/respondent

Procedural Posture

Civil Appeal / Appeal From Competition Appeal Tribunal

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the rules providing for multilateral interchange fees (MIFs) by Visa and Mastercard restrict competition contrary to Article 101(1) TFEU and the Competition Act 1998
  2. 2 Whether the introduction of the Interchange Fee Regulation (IFR) changes the appropriate counterfactual for competition analysis
  3. 3 Whether the acquisition of Visa Europe by Visa Inc provides an arguable defence to competition law claims

Ratio Decidendi

The Court held that, following the introduction of the Interchange Fee Regulation, it is at least seriously arguable that the appropriate counterfactual for assessing the competitive effects of MIFs is no longer necessarily settlement at par, but may be the Unilateral Interchange Fee Model or a pure bilaterals model, as proposed by Visa and Mastercard. The CAT was correct to refuse summary judgment for post-IFR MIFs and inter-regional MIFs, as Visa and Mastercard have real prospects of defending the claims. The acquisition of Visa Europe by Visa Inc does not provide an arguable defence, as the agreement or concerted practice persists and remains restrictive of competition. However, Visa...

Court Disposition

Appeal dismissed in part, cross-appeal dismissed in part, Visa permitted to defend inter-regional MIF claims on limited grounds

Orders

  • Claimants' appeal dismissed as to summary judgment for post-IFR and inter-regional MIFs
  • Visa's cross-appeal dismissed as to acquisition of Visa Europe