Client Update | Antitrust & Competition Israeli Supreme Court Upholds Decision to Block Indirect Purchasers’ Class Action Against an International Cartel, but Warns That the Result Is Undesirable

This short update addresses a recent decision of the Israeli Supreme Court to uphold the decision of the Central/Lod District Court concerning service overseas of an antitrust class action filed by an indirect purchaser seeking damages under the Israeli Restrictive Trade Practices Law, 1988.  In this case, the plaintiff argues that the international “LCD-Panels cartel” harmed Israeli consumers who purchased products that included the cartelized panels. The District Court’s decision rejected the validity of the plaintiff’s purported service outside the jurisdiction to non-Israeli defendants and the Supreme Court’s decision upheld this result. Nonetheless, the Supreme Court expressed a feeling of discomfort, describing as “undesirable” the situation whereby Israeli consumers are unable to retrieve damages from entities which, allegedly, colluded in an international cartel. This precedential decision may limit the ability of indirect purchasers to seek damages with regard to international cartels in Israel. It may also serve as a catalyst to expedite the process of changing current Israeli Civil Procedure Regulations in this regard. In any case, this does not include entities that have a local presence in Israel (subsidiaries, distributors) through which court documents may be served in Israel. To read the full client update – click here.