Home / News / CMS advises P4 in a successful dispute with the Office...

CMS advises P4 in a successful dispute with the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection

5 November 2019

CMS has successfully advised the telecommunications operator P4 in litigation with the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection concerning the introduction of mobile TV in the years 2008-2010. On 31 October the Supreme Court has issued a final judgment putting an end to the almost 8-year dispute involving four telecommunications operators (Polkomtel, T-Mobile, Orange and P4) by dismissing the cassation appeal of the President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection. In its judgement, the Supreme Court pointed out that the President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection failed to present evidence indicating that the operators had concluded a prohibited agreement. The Supreme Court also confirmed the position taken by the Court of Appeal that it cannot be said that the operators’ actions had an anti-competition effect, and even less an anti-competition goal. The Supreme Court thus accepted that all the allegations of the President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection were groundless, both as regards a breach of substantive law and of procedural law.

“Last week’s judgement gives a definitive resolution of almost 8 years of court proceedings and shows that companies can effectively defend their own business decisions and market strategies. This judgement is also an excellent example of how complex disputes concerning competition law can be and just how much specialist knowledge of a given sector is needed to analyse the evidence”, says Małgorzata Surdek, who represented P4 for CMS.

P4 was represented before the Supreme Court by: Małgorzata Surdek, partner heading the litigation practice, Małgorzata Urbańska, partner heading the CMS competition law practice, and Katarzyna Kucharczyk, legal counsel from the firm’s litigation team.

Further information about the litigation team: CMS has one of the most experienced teams in Poland specialising in litigation and arbitration proceedings. Thanks to the varied and long experience of its lawyers, the eighteen-member team, headed by Małgorzata Surdek, advocate, is able to guarantee effective support and legal assistance in all types of disputes of varying complexity: from simple claims to complex, high-value disputes concerning cross-border investments.

CMS regularly represents clients in litigations involving competition and consumer protection. It also represents clients in disputes concerning various areas of civil law and business law (e.g. construction litigation, disputes concerning insurance claims, intellectual property protection disputes, employee disputes and product liability). It also conducts proceedings before administrative courts and advises clients in criminal proceedings (in particular, in the area of business criminal law) and enforcement proceedings.

Further information about the competition law team: The CMS competition team holds a leading position in rankings of law firms specialising in competition law, including the Legal 500 and Chambers Europe rankings. The team’s practice, headed by Małgorzata Urbańska, extends beyond anti-monopoly law and merger control. CMS lawyers also advise in cases concerning state aid, public procurement, consumer protection and unfair competition, giving comprehensive advice on all aspects of competition law. The team successfully represents clients in proceedings before the President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection and the European Commission, as well as in cases involving appeals against the decisions of these authorities. 

Further information about CMS: CMS is an international law firm which provides comprehensive legal and tax advice services to companies, financial institutions and administrative authorities. We are one of the largest and most experienced international law firms in Poland – we have been operating on the Polish market for over 20 years. CMS’s offices in Warsaw and Poznań employ over 170 lawyers who advise clients operating in all key sectors of the economy. For more information go to: cms.law.