LITIGATION TRENDS 2025 | 21 T O C E M P E S G A N T I I P C A P R O W C S P O R T C O N T A C T I N T A P P P A T C C L S E C historic alleged excessive pricing of telecom landline services, was the first opt-out collective action to proceed to trial. The claim followed a provisional finding by the UK telecoms regulator, Ofcom, in 2017 that BT had charged prices above competitive levels. The claim was unanimously dismissed by the CAT, which found that BT’s charges were ‘excessive’ – in that they significantly exceeded a competitive benchmark price based on a reasonable rate of return – but not ‘unfair’ when other factors such as the economic value of the services were taken into consideration. While the Le Patourel claim may have failed, it did so on highly fact specific grounds, which are unlikely to give businesses confidence that further claims of this nature will be deterred. Further collective action claims are due to be heard by the CAT in 2025, including the Rachel Kent v. Apple claim, relating to Apple’s App Store policies, the outcome of which will be closely watched for the potential impact on the increasing use of the CAT as a forum for bringing such claims against large tech companies. As the landscape for collective actions in the UK continues to unfold, companies will need to be ever more vigilant with their business practices and take steps to mitigate exposure to largescale competition claims. With novel theories of harm and potentially substantial damages awards, the heightened risks do not appear to be abating any time soon. Antitrust I With novel theories of harm and potentially substantial damages awards, the heightened risks do not appear to be abating any time soon. 20 | Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP
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