COMMERCE COMMISSION V EMIRATES HC AK CIV 2008-404-8349

COMMERCE COMMISSION V EMIRATES HC AK CIV 2008-404-8349

Court accepted the parties' agreed starting range of $1.8–$2.3 million for the combined offences, applied a 25% discount for admissions, cooperation, limited commercial gain, remorse and compliance improvements, and held the agreed aggregate pecuniary penalty of $1.5 million was within the appropriate range and thus ordered it together with awarded costs.

Citation
openlaw-d16af90c_f1a9_4726_9263_0557ec12d21c.pdf
Parties
Plaintiff: Commerce Commission; Defendant: Emirates
Court
High Court
Jurisdiction
New Zealand
Judgment Date
27 July 2012
Procedural Posture
Competition/antitrust (civil) / Penalty Assessment (final Judgment)
Outcome
Court ordered pecuniary penalty and costs in favour of the Commerce Commission against Emirates.
Legal Topics
Price Fixing, Cartel, Pecuniary Penalty, Section 27, Section 30, Section 80
Competition Law Commercial Law Civil Procedure Price Fixing Cartel Pecuniary Penalty Section 27 Section 30 +1 more

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Parties

Commerce Commission

Plaintiff

Emirates

Defendant

Procedural Posture

Competition/antitrust (civil) / Penalty Assessment (final Judgment)

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether Emirates' admitted entry into and giving effect to FSU and SSU contravened ss 27 and 30 of the Commerce Act 1986 such that a pecuniary penalty under s 80 is appropriate
  2. 2 Quantification of an appropriate pecuniary penalty given limited ascertainable commercial gain
  3. 3 Whether the FSU and SSU constitute separate offending conduct for penalty aggregation

Ratio Decidendi

Court accepted the parties' agreed starting range of $1.8–$2.3 million for the combined offences, applied a 25% discount for admissions, cooperation, limited commercial gain, remorse and compliance improvements, and held the agreed aggregate pecuniary penalty of $1.5 million was within the appropriate range and thus ordered it together with awarded costs.

Court Disposition

Court ordered pecuniary penalty and costs in favour of the Commerce Commission against Emirates.

Orders

  • Emirates to pay to the Commerce Commission a pecuniary penalty of NZD 1500000.
  • Emirates to pay costs to the Commerce Commission of NZD 159079.18 for the stage one hearing.