Banking Cartel
Ius’ 5 cases are proceeding at different speeds.
The larger Mortgages and Consumer Credit case remains suspended.
In the ABanca case, a preliminary hearing was held on October 30. Some exceptions raised by the Defendant have been rejected and others postponed for later decision. A first trial hearing on Ius’ legitimacy to pursue this case will be held on 13 January. At the Court’s request, the parties debated the possibility of submitting a referral to the CJEU on whether Portuguese law’s choice on how funders are remunerated can create a conflict of interests or jeopardize claimant’s independence.
The Barclays case is delayed. The Court rejected the parties’ agreement to surpass this issue and declared the service of the claim null and void due to a need for better translations. It has asked for translation budgets and a ruling on how to proceed is expected.
In the Deutsche Bank case, Ius filed its reply to the exceptions raised by the Defendant. The Court rejected Ius’ request to expand its claim. In the SME Credit case, all Defendants have filed their Defense. The Court rejected Defendants’ request for suspension, and agreed with Ius that it seems better to join this action with one filed by an association of SMEs (decision pending).
Apple (App Store)
The Lisbon Appeal Court rejected Ius’ appeal against the suspension of this case for what may be 7 years or more, arguing it cannot control the lower court’s discretion in this regard, and that EU Law has no bearing on this issue. Ius is seeking to have this judgment reformed.
Hub & Spoke
All 10 cases relating to Hub & Spoke practices identified by the Competition Authority have now been filed.
Ius filed the remaining 4 actions, against: Sumol+Compal, Bimbo, Unilever and Johnson&Johnson. The Super Bock, PrimeDrinks, Active Brands, Sogrape, Beiesdorf and SCC cases have been preliminarily accepted by the Court, served or being served on Defendants and consumers have been or are being notified.
TikTok <13
Defendants have filed their Defense.
Electronic complaint book
In 3 cases, courts have disagreed with Ius and indicated that companies based in other EU Member States providing online services in Portugal do not have to comply with the Portuguese rules on the electronic complaint book.
In the Spartoo case, Ius lost its appeal to the Lisbon Appeal Court, which confirmed the 1st instance ruling and added that the court did not have jurisdiction to decide this issue at all. Ius is appealing the ruling.
In the Airbnb and Contextlogic case, Ius appealed the 1st instance judgments that dismissed its action.Shein has filed its defense.
Mercedes/Daimler
The Defendants appealed to the Supreme Court, continuing their attempt to fight the jurisdiction of the Lisbon court to resolve this dispute.