Jugement Cour Suprême MyFerryLink

16 December 2015 PRESS SUMMARY Société Coopérative de Production SeaFrance SA (Respondent) v The Competition and Markets Authority and another (Appellants) [2015] UKSC 75 On appeal from [2015] EWCA Civ 487 JUSTICES: Lord Neuberger (President), Lord Clarke, Lord Sumption, Lord Reed, Lord Hodge BACKGROUND TO THE APPEAL SeaFrance SA, a French company, operated a ferry service between Dover and Calais until it ceased operations on 16 November 2011. It was formally liquidated on 9 January 2012, and most of its employees were dismissed. Groupe Eurotunnel SA (´*(7µ), the parent company of the Group operating the Channel Tunnel, and Société Coopérative De Production SeaFrance SA ´6&23µ a ZRUNHUV· FR-operative incorporated by a number of former SeaFrance employees to secure the continuance of the ferry service,DFTXLUHG VXEVWDQWLDOO\ DOO RI 6HD)UDQFH·V DVVHWV RQ -XO\ This included three of the four SeaFrance vessels, trademarks, IT systems, goodwill and customer lists. GET and SCOP resumed ferry services on 20 August 2012 through*(7·Vsubsidiary company, MyFerryLink SAS. The vessels were operated by employees who had almost all worked for SeaFrance. The reemployment of those employees had been incentivised by a statutoryPlan de Sauvegarde de O·(PSORi(known as the PSE3), by which6HD)UDQFH·V SDUHQW FRPSDQ\SNCF would provide payments to employers for employing ex-SeaFrance employees. The acquisition was referred to the Competition Commission, the regulator at the time.