ON THE BEACH LTD v RYANAIR UK LTD & ANOR.

ON THE BEACH LTD v RYANAIR UK LTD & ANOR.

The Irish OTB proceedings and the English proceedings are not currently related under Article 30 because there is a real prospect the Irish action will be dismissed before any competition issues are pleaded. Even if relatedness were established, the discretion would be exercised against granting a stay due to delay in the Irish proceedings, ongoing harm to OTB, and lack of compelling countervailing factors.

Parties
Claimant: On The Beach Ltd; Defendant: Ryanair UK Ltd; Defendant: Ryanair DAC
Jurisdiction
England and Wales
Judgment Date
13 April 2022
Procedural Posture
Commercial Competition Claim / Application for Stay of Proceedings
Outcome
Application for stay dismissed
Legal Topics
Abuse of Dominant Position, Stay of Proceedings, Lis Pendens, Case Management, Jurisdiction, Screen Scraping, Intellectual Property, Tort of Causing Loss by Unlawful Means
Competition Law Civil Procedure Conflict of Laws Abuse of Dominant Position Stay of Proceedings Lis Pendens Case Management Jurisdiction +3 more

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Parties

On The Beach Ltd

Claimant

Ryanair UK Ltd

Defendant

Ryanair DAC

Defendant

Procedural Posture

Commercial Competition Claim / Application for Stay of Proceedings

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether English and Irish proceedings are 'related' under Article 30 of Brussels Recast
  2. 2 Whether the Court should exercise discretion to stay the English proceedings
  3. 3 Whether defences not yet pleaded can be considered for relatedness

Ratio Decidendi

The Irish OTB proceedings and the English proceedings are not currently related under Article 30 because there is a real prospect the Irish action will be dismissed before any competition issues are pleaded. Even if relatedness were established, the discretion would be exercised against granting a stay due to delay in the Irish proceedings, ongoing harm to OTB, and lack of compelling countervailing factors.

Court Disposition

Application for stay dismissed

Orders

  • Ryanair’s application for stay of proceedings is dismissed