Two demolition contractors fined £22m in the industry’s hedge-bidding scandal are set for an April court showdown with competition regulators.
In March, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) fined Keltbray, Squibb Group and eight other companies, after finding they had colluded on prices through illegal cartel agreements when submitting bids in competitive tenders.
In August, however, Keltbray and Squibb appealed to the CMA, claiming the watchdog made mistakes in making its decisions. Both appeals are being heard together.
Following a case management hearing earlier this month, the start date for the main hearings has been set for April 25 next year, with the case expected to last seven days .
During the hearing, the presiding judge rejected a bid by Squibb’s lawyers to restrict the availability of key documents in the case.
Fergus Randolph KC, acting for Squibb, told the hearing that the introduction of a “confidentiality ring” could reduce the risk of confidential information becoming public and avoid delays in the case.
He said: “Squibb in no way disputes the proposition that open justice is the best way to proceed, we absolutely want our case to be heard in public. But we are concerned about the possibility of confidential information being leaked without the protection of a ring of confidentiality”.
However, the presiding judge said: “No specific wording of an order has even been proposed in this case and it seems to us that this is a hypothetical question that may arise. If it does, we fully foresee that the parties will cooperate and deal fairly with the matter.”
Legal documents filed by Keltbray, which was fined £20m by the CMA, say it accepts it committed eight competition law breaches but believes the penalty imposed on it was “assessed on a flawed basis” and was “disproportionate to the gravity and impact”. ” of his involvement.
Squibb, which was fined £2m, is appealing on the basis that the CMA made errors in defining the relevant markets affected and the type of work in which Squibb was involved.
