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United Kingdom Cartonboard Antitrust Litigation

Kellogg Company of Great Britain Ltd. v. Iggesund Paperboard Workington Ltd., Iggesund Board Sales Ltd., Mo Och Domsjö Aktiebolag, Aktiebolaget Iggesunds Bruk and Iggesund Paperboard Aktiebolag (High Court of Justice, London, Great Britain). A private antitrust action in the United Kingdom on behalf of an international food manufacturer alleging price fixing by suppliers of packaging materials.

Zelle Hofmann's client, Kellogg Company of Great Britain, commenced proceedings in the High Court of Justice in London in February 1996 against Iggesund Paperboard (Workington) Limited (f/k/a Thames Board Limited, hereinafter "Iggesund") and certain affiliated companies, including Iggesund's ultimate parent, Mo Och Domsjö Aktiebolag ("MoDo"). From the 1930s until 1993, Iggesund was Kellogg's main supplier of cartonboard, the primary material used to manufacture folding cartons for packaging food and non-food consumer goods. Kellogg sought damages for defendants' breaches of Article 81(1) of the EC Treaty.

Specifically, Kellogg's claims related to the defendants' participation from mid-1986 until at least April 1991 in a European Community-wide price-fixing conspiracy, as a result of which Kellogg claimed it was charged excessive prices for cartonboard. Pursuant to a contract entered into by Kellogg and Iggesund in 1982, Kellogg purchased approximately 90 percent of its cartonboard requirements from that company. Zelle Hofmann attorneys advised Kellogg regarding its litigation strategy in the High Court.

The impetus for the filing of this case was a July 1994 decision of the European Commission. After a lengthy investigation, the Commission found that there was overwhelming evidence of the existence of an unlawful price fixing cartel, whereby the suppliers of cartonboard in the Community, including MoDo and Iggesund, regularly met, planned, agreed on and implemented simultaneous and uniform price increases for cartonboard.

Proceedings in the High Court in London were stayed for a number of years, pending MoDo's unsuccessful appeals to the Court of First Instance and the European Court of Justice. After the ECJ issued its Judgment dismissing the appeal in its entirety, the High Court's stay expired and Kellogg, with the assistance of its attorneys at Zelle Hofmann, applied to have the Court determine whether the findings of the European Commission, as upheld by the CFI and ECJ, should be binding on MoDo in the English proceedings. After the submission of Kellogg's written argument and prior to a hearing on the matter, Zelle Hofmann negotiated a favorable settlement on its client's behalf.

© 2008 Zelle Hofmann/ Not Certified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization
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