In a finale to the very long-running Albion Water affair, Albion Water secured the largest award of damages by the Competition Appeal Tribunal in its action against Dwr Cymr (Welsh Water).
Welsh Water had abused its dominant position by offering a common carriage price to Albion Water that was abusively high and also set at a level which did not enable Albion Water to profit from its inset appointment to Welsh Water’s former customer, Shotton Paper. Albion Water submitted that if Welsh Water had not set an abusively high price, it would have accepted a reasonable access charge and stood a good chance of winning a further contract with Corus Tata Steel at the same site.
The case involved significant cross-examination of witnesses, a careful examination of the “counterfactual”, that is, what price would Albion Water have contracted for common carriage, for the bulk water to be carried on Welsh Water’s pipes, and the assessment of the chance of winning the Tata Corus contract.
It is a landmark case in follow-on damages actions and Albion was represented by Thomas Sharpe QC, Matthew Cook and Mehdi Baiou, all of One Essex Court.
Full text of the Judgment available here