Sainsbury's Supermarkets Ltd v Mastercard Incorporated & Ors

Sainsbury's Supermarkets Ltd v Mastercard Incorporated & Ors

The balance falls in favour of disclosure because the documents are relevant, not available from other sources, and the Commission has already anonymised and protected confidential information. Disclosure is permitted subject to additional safeguards, including Commission comment and staged disclosure within the confidentiality ring.

Parties
Claimant: Sainsbury’s Supermarkets Limited; Defendant: MasterCard Incorporated; Defendant: MasterCard International Incorporated; Defendant: MasterCard Europe S. P. R. L
Jurisdiction
England and Wales
Judgment Date
07 October 2015
Procedural Posture
Civil / Interlocutory Application for Disclosure
Outcome
Application for disclosure granted with safeguards
Legal Topics
Disclosure of Documents, Confidentiality, Competition Investigations, Interchange Fees
Competition Law Civil Procedure Disclosure of Documents Confidentiality Competition Investigations Interchange Fees

Case Brief

Summary, issues, holding and outcome

More case intelligence is available

Unlock the full research layer for this judgment.

Full judgment text Downloadable case file Legal principles 3 Authorities cited 4 Party arguments 2 Amounts and remedies 1
Sign in to unlock

Parties

Sainsbury’s Supermarkets Limited

Claimant

MasterCard Incorporated

Defendant

MasterCard International Incorporated

Defendant

MasterCard Europe S. P. R. L

Defendant

Procedural Posture

Civil / Interlocutory Application for Disclosure

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether documents supplied to MasterCard by the European Commission in the context of an ongoing competition investigation should be disclosed to the Claimant in these proceedings
  2. 2 Whether disclosure would prejudice the interests of third parties or the effectiveness of the Commission's investigation

Ratio Decidendi

The balance falls in favour of disclosure because the documents are relevant, not available from other sources, and the Commission has already anonymised and protected confidential information. Disclosure is permitted subject to additional safeguards, including Commission comment and staged disclosure within the confidentiality ring.

Court Disposition

Application for disclosure granted with safeguards

Orders

  • Disclosure of the documents supplied by the European Commission to MasterCard is permitted, subject to the Commission being given an opportunity to comment within a short period (2-3 weeks) before the order takes effect.
  • Initial review of the documents by MasterCard’s external legal team to ensure protection of confidential interests of merchants.