Arcadia Group Brands Limited and others v. VISA Inc and others - (05 Aug 2015)

Court of Appeal (England and Wales) dismisses claim against VISA as time barred

MANU/UKWA/0490/2015

Limitation

In a case involving claims of unlawful restriction of competition, the Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal against summary judgment. It upheld the findings at summary judgment: the facts relevant to the right of action were available prior to the date when the claim was barred, and the Appellants had no reasonable prospects of succeeding in their claim. The Appellants had not satisfied Section 32(1)(b) of the Limitation Act, 1980, that 'any fact relevant to the plaintiff's right of action has been deliberately concealed from him by the defendant'. Further, the Appellants had admitted that no new material facts had become known in the years leading up to the commencement of the proceedings. The Appellant's claim was based on the existence of a mechanism by which VISA had set a minimum price that merchants had to pay to their banks for transactions involving VISA cards.

Tags : COMPETITION LIMITATION ENGLAND AND WALES VISA