In the Active Brands case, one of the competition disputes concerning alleged hub-and-spoke cartels in the food retail sector, the Competition, Regulation and Supervision Court overturned the Portuguese Competition Authority’s infringement decision on the grounds that there was insufficient robust evidence. Morais Leitão advised Modelo Continente in this case, which forms part of a series of ten investigations involving fines totalling approximately EUR 850 million and raising some of the most complex evidentiary and legal issues to date in Portuguese competition law.
The Competition, Regulation and Supervision Court recently overturned the Portuguese Competition Authority’s infringement decision in the so-called Active Brands case, part of the broader series of proceedings concerning alleged hub-and-spoke cartels brought against Portugal’s leading food retailers and several suppliers.
Morais Leitão advised Modelo Continente in these proceedings, in which the Court found that there was insufficient robust evidence to substantiate the alleged infringements and therefore overturned the penalties imposed. The decision may, however, be appealed by the Portuguese Competition Authority. The Court’s reasoning is particularly significant as it found that the evidence would remain insufficient even if certain items of evidence, whose validity has been extensively debated before the courts, were deemed admissible.
The case brings to the fore some of the most complex issues in competition law, including the evidentiary requirements for establishing alleged hub-and-spoke cartels, the use of evidence obtained during searches conducted by the Portuguese Competition Authority, and the interplay between national and European Union law, in the context of ten investigations involving fines totalling approximately EUR 850 million.
The Morais Leitão team responsible for handling the litigation at trial was led by Joaquim Vieira Peres and included Inês Gouveia, Rita Ferreira Gomes, David Silva Ramalho and Inês Costa Bastos, with contributions from Gonçalo Rosas, now a Morais Leitão alumnus. The remaining hub-and-spoke proceedings are still pending before the Lisbon Court of Appeal or the Court of Justice of the European Union and, both in the proceedings before the Portuguese Competition Authority and in the subsequent court appeals, have involved virtually all members of the European and Competition Law Department.
This case reflects Morais Leitão’s ability to handle highly demanding, market-shaping matters, combining technical excellence, strategic insight and a multidisciplinary approach to protecting its clients’ interests.
