The claimant had taken two leases, but had been made subject to beer ties with the defendant. He claimed damages for the losses, saying he had been forced to pay higher prices than those allowed to non-tied houses, and that the agreement was anti-competitive, and that the individual exemption from the EC Treaty obligations which had been given to the defendant was ineffective.
Held: The appeal succeeded. The judge had failed to give proper weight to the need to avoid decisions conflicting with those of the European courts. To make the decision a comprehensive examination of the market was required and that investigation was byond the court’s remit. A decision that the Commission was wrong was a decision required to be taken if at all by the ECJ. The exemption was not effective. The Delimitis conditions were satisfied, and the claimant was entitled to damages.
Judges:
Lord Justice Peter Gibson Lord Justice Tuckey And Sir Martin Nourse
Citations:
[2004] EWCA Civ 637, Times 28-May-2004, [2004] 3 EGLR 128, [2004] EuLR 693
Links:
Statutes:
European Communities Act 1972 3(1)
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Citing:
Cited – Stergios Delimitis v Henninger Brau AG ECJ 28-Feb-1991
ECJ A beer supply agreement is prohibited by Article 85(1) of the EEC Treaty if two cumulative conditions are met. The first is that, having regard to the economic and legal context of the agreement at issue, it . .
Appeal from – Crehan v Inntrepreneur Pub Company (Cpc), Brewman Group Limited ChD 26-Jun-2003
The landlord had signed agreements tieing him to sales of beers. After falling into debt, he challnged the prices he had been obliged to pay as contravening the Treaty. The European Court had held that there was a possible claim under the Treaty. . .
Cited – Greenalls Management Limited v Canavan CA 30-Jul-1997
A lease of a pub contained a term by which the parties purported to agree that the Block Exemption applied. The claimants sought to enforce its beer tie which was by type. The lessee contended among other things that the tie was not within the . .
See Also – Courage Ltd v Crehan; The Inntrepreneur Beer Supply Co Ltd v Byrne; Same v Langton; Greenalls Management Ltd v Smith; Walker Cain Ltd v McCaughey CA 14-Jun-1999
There is not to be read into a beer tie term any implied provision that the beer to be supplied under the term was to be supplied at any kind of advantageous price. A tenant seeking damages for failure to supply under such a term was not entitled to . .
Cited – Hasselblad (GB) Ltd v Orbison CA 1985
In the course of proceedings brought by the European Commission against Hasselblad, Mr Orbison wrote a letter to the Commission upon which the appellant then sued for damages for libel. The court considered the dangers of national and European . .
Cited – H J Banks and Co Ltd v British Coal Corporation ECJ 13-Apr-1994
The European Commission has exclusive jurisdiction over ECSC treaty disputes. The duty of sincere cooperation imposed the obligation on the national court to mitigate as far as possible in the interests of the Community the risk of a conflicting . .
Cited – Shaw v Commission ECFI 2002
. .
Cited – Iberian (Uk) Ltd v BPB Industries Plc and Another ChD 15-May-1996
UK courts should avoid creating procedures inconsistent with European decisions: ‘The necessity of avoiding conflicting decisions between the Commission and national courts is a theme which runs through a number of European and English domestic . .
Cited – Masterfoods Ltd v HB Ice Cream Ltd ECJ 14-Dec-2000
Masterfoods Ltd, a subsidiary of Mars Inc, brought proceedings in Ireland against HB Ice Cream Ltd, a subsidiary of Unilever, for a declaration that its agreements to provide retailers with freezer cabinets on terms that they stocked only HB ice . .
Cited – MTV Europe v BMG Records (UK) Ltd CA 1997
The court recognised the difficulties of the European and national court investigating the same set of facts, and referred to ‘the extreme undesirability of inconsistent decisions as between the Commission, on one side, and national courts on the . .
Cited – Foto-Frost v Hauptzollamt Lubeck-Ost ECJ 22-Oct-1987
ECJ Lack of jurisdiction of national courts to declare acts of Community institutions invalid – Validity of a decision on the post-clearance recovery of import duties. . .
Cited – Neste Markkinointi Oy v Yotuuli Ky and Others ECJ 7-Dec-2000
The court considered a petrol station agreement under which the operator of the station agreed to take fuel from a single supplier. The agreement was for 10 years and thereafter the operator could terminate the agreement by giving a year’s notice. . .
Cited – Langnese Iglo GmbH v Commission of the European Communities ECFI 8-Jun-1995
ECJ Competition – Exclusive purchasing agreements for ice-cream – Relevant market – Possible barriers to entry to the market by third parties – Trade between Member States – Comfort letter – Block exemption – . .
Cited – Gibbs Mew Plc v Gemmell and Gibbs Mew Plc and Centric Pub Company Ltd v Gemmell CA 22-Jul-1998
The brewery sought possession of a public house, tied by type. The lessee claimed damages for breach of Art. 81 and a declaration that the Block Exemption was inapplicable to his lease. His appeal from the judge’s order in favour of the brewery was . .
Cited – Joynson v Commission ECFI 21-Mar-2002
A pub lessee applied to annul the Commission’s decision to grant individual exemption to Bass.
Held: The Bass leases did not fall within the Block Exemption because the exclusive purchasing obligation was by type, not by brand. However such a . .
Cited – Crehan v Courage Limited and Byrne and Inntrepreneur Beer Supply Co Ltd and Langton v Inntrepreneur Beer Supply Co Ltd CA 27-May-1999
The court considered the validity of beer ties affecting public houses. . .
Cited – Gorris v Scott 22-Apr-1874
In the case of a statutory duty, the scope of the duty is answered by deducing the purpose of the duty from the language and context of the statute. . .
Cited – Garden Cottage Foods Ltd v Milk Marketing Board HL 1984
In English law a breach of statutory duty, is actionable as such by a private individual to whom loss or damage is caused by a breach of that duty. Lord Diplock said that it was quite unarguable: ‘that if such a contravention of Article 86 gives . .
Cited – South Australia Asset Management Corporation v York Montague Ltd etc HL 24-Jun-1996
Limits of Damages for Negligent Valuations
Damages for negligent valuations are limited to the foreseeable consequences of advice, and do not include losses arising from a general fall in values. Valuation is seldom an exact science, and within a band of figures valuers may differ without . .
See Also – Courage Limited v Crehan ChD 25-Nov-1998
. .
See Also – Crehan v Courage Limited and Byrne and Inntrepreneur Beer Supply Co Ltd and Langton v Inntrepreneur Beer Supply Co Ltd CA 27-May-1999
The court considered the validity of beer ties affecting public houses. . .
At ECJ – Courage Ltd and Crehan v Crehan and Courage Ltd and Others ECJ 20-Sep-2001
The company had leased a public house to the respondent. The lease was subject to a tie, under which the respondent had to purchase supplies from the company. The company came to sue for the price of beer supplied. The respondent asserted that the . .
See Also – Courage Ltd v Crehan CA 12-Nov-2001
. .
Cited by:
Cited – Crehan v Inntrepreneur Pub Company (Cpc), Brewman Group Limited ChD 26-Jun-2003
The landlord had signed agreements tieing him to sales of beers. After falling into debt, he challnged the prices he had been obliged to pay as contravening the Treaty. The European Court had held that there was a possible claim under the Treaty. . .
Cited – Vision Golf Ltd v Weightmans (A Firm) ChD 26-Jul-2005
A lease had been forfeited. The defendant firm of solicitors had negligently failed to apply for relief. They argued that that failure had in fact caused no loss to the claimants, since they would have lost the lease anyway.
Held: The ‘but . .
Appeal from – Inntrepreneur Pub Company (CPC) and others v Crehan HL 19-Jul-2006
The tenant had taken on pub leases with ties requiring him to buy beer from companies associated with the landlords. The European Commission had issued a decision and the House was asked whether this was binding on the parties.
Held: . .
Cited – Devenish Nutrition Ltd v Sanofi-Aventis Sa (France) and others CA 14-Oct-2008
The defendant had been involved in price fixing arrangements, and the claimant sought damages for breach of its proprietary rights. The claimant appealed refusal of an award an account of profits for what was akin to a breach of statutory duty.
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Commercial, European
Updated: 11 February 2022; Ref: scu.197047