The First President of the Paris Court of Appeal has suspended enforcement of the Polynesian Competition Authority’s ruling in the chilled beverages case due to the risk of serious grounds for annulment based on the lack of impartiality of the judges, serious and irreparable harm to the image of the group concerned and the impossibility to execute.
On 22 August 2019, the Polynesian Competition Authority (the APC – Autorité polynésienne de la concurrence) handed down fines of 235 million Pacific Francs (around EUR 2 million) for an alleged abuse of a dominant position to 13 distribution firms belonging to the Wane Group operating stores of the brands Carrefour, Champion and Easy Market in French Polynesia, and ordered publication of the ruling. The abuse of dominant position claimed was linked to alleged excessive prices charged to drinks suppliers for the refrigeration of their products in the fridges purchased and maintained by the distribution companies.
The Vogel & Vogel legal team which assisted the undertakings in question and obtained the stay of enforcement, was composed of Joseph Vogel, founding partner, Laurence Boudailliez, senior manager and Anaïs Hirszowski, senior associate.