The seminar will focus on the assessment of damages in competition cases. We will build on topics of the previous two “fundamentals seminars,” and discuss actions for damages in hardcore cartel cases, the area in which most actions for damages have been brought to date, as well as abuse of dominance cases, where actions for damages face particular challenges. The seminar will focus on the role of economists in calculating damages, including the models they use, and on how courts can and should examine the evidence presented by economists. The seminar will also focus on practical questions that can arise in actions for damages, including access to evidence, managing cases with multiple parties, and on the legal framework shaped by European case law and the (proposed) EU Directive on private litigation in competition cases. Discussions in breakout groups will illustrate key concepts and provide insight in how economic and legal questions can be resolved in actual cases before courts.
