The Supreme Administrative Court upheld the decision of the Office in the STUDENT AGENCY case
By its ruling, the Supreme Administrative Court annulled preceding judgement of the Regional Court in Brno before which STUDENT AGENCY succeeded with its action in November 2012.
In 2011, the Office imposed a fine of 5,154,000 CZK on the company STUDENT AGENCY for the abuse of dominant position in the market of public passenger bus transportation on the Prague – Brno line with the intent to exclude the company ASIANA from the market. In the proceeding, the Office used advanced economic and econometric methods for the relevant market definition and demonstration of predatory pricing, i.e. below-cost pricing intended to drive competitors out of the market.
When considering the action filed by STUDENT AGENCY against the Office’s decision, the Regional Court confirmed practices of the STUDENT AGENCY to be abusive. However, in the opinion of the Court, the relevant market definition was not sufficiently substantiated by the Office and therefore the Office’s decision was annulled. After the judgement of the Supreme Administrative Court, the case has been remanded to the Regional Court for retrial. As of now, the decision and the imposed fine are again valid and in force.
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