RTPR Allen & Overy represented Profi Rom Food Romania in litigation to annul a decision of the Competition Council in which the Company was fined for infringing Competition Law for an alleged price-fixing agreement
The RTPR Allen & Overy team members were Prof Lucian Mihai, Of Counsel, and associates Roxana Ionescu, Adriana Dobre and Andrei Mihul.
"It was an extremely complicated case in which the Competition Council produced hard evidence, an agreement under which the supplier fixed the shelf price. Building a defence against this accusation of having fixed prices can sometimes seem impossible. We mainly disputed the nature of the agreement, and our interpretation of it was completely opposite to that of the Competition Council. We believe the correct resolution would have been the full cancellation of the decision – because in our opinion we produced sufficient arguments and evidence to prove that Profi and Albinuta did not infringe the law. Nevertheless, given the complexity of the case, it is a true victory that the fine was reduced to its minimum provided by the regulations in force", said Roxana Ionescu, senior associate and coordinator of the competition department at RTPR Allen & Overy.
“This outcome is the result of long and very intense work by a multi-skilled team whose membership included competition and litigation attorneys at law. The judges of the High Court for Cassation and Justice were able to review accurate and full juridical data, in the light of which they judiciously applied the legal provisions. A difficult case, and an important victory”, said Prof Lucian Mihai, coordinator of the litigation and arbitration department of RTPR Allen & Overy.
RTPR was founded in 2004 and has been working in association with the international law firm Allen & Overy LLP, headquartered in London, since 2008. RTPR Allen & Overy has 42 lawyers including 4 partners – Costin Taracila, Victor Padurari, Alexandru Retevoescu, Mihai Ristici, and Prof Lucian Mihai, Of Counsel.
RTPR Allen & Overy's main areas of activity are: financing, mergers and acquisitions, capital markets, insolvency and restructuring, competition, labour law, intellectual property law, litigation and arbitration, and providing advice across a range of business sectors including energy, telecommunications, finance, real estate and the pharmaceutical industry.
Note to editors:
1. Allen & Overy is an international legal practice with approximately 5,000 staff, including some 512 partners, working in 42 major cities in 29 countries.
2. In this press release “Allen & Overy” means Allen & Overy LLP and its affiliated undertakings.
3. In this press release “RTPR Allen & Overy” means Radu Taracila Padurari Retevoescu SCA in association with Allen & Overy LLP.
4. Allen & Overy has been operating in the CEE region since 1991, when its first office opened in Warsaw. Since then, it has expanded its operations to include Prague, Budapest, Bucharest, Bratislava and Moscow, all of which are renowned in the market for top quality legal advice combined with local commercial understanding, as well as for their integrity and their pro-active approach to matters. Additionally, Allen & Overy signed an exclusive association with the leading full-service Romanian law firm Radu Taracila Padurari Retevoescu SCA (RTPR), effective from July 2008, expanding the number of CEE offices in which we are able to provide local law advice to six.
