The Presidium of the Supreme Court upheld the position of MZS’ clients – Novorossiysk Commercial Sea Port PJSC (“NCSP”) and Primorsk Oil Terminal LLC (“PTP”) – in their disputes with the Federal Antimonopoly Service (“FAS”) over allegedly monopolistic pricing for cargo handling services, where FAS sought to impose exceptionally high turnover fines, totaling over RUB 9.7 billion.

MZS’ team led by Alexander Zyuba and Maxim Muzyka have been representing the Ports in their disputes with FAS on this matter for over two years, from the very first hearings in the trial courts.

The courts of the first, appellate and cassation instances all supported the Ports, and refused to enforce FAS’ resolutions, but the Judicial Chamber on Economic Disputes of the Supreme Court overruled those judicial acts, remanded the case of NCSP for retrial, and dismissed PTP’s case in its entirety.

However, the Presidium of the Supreme Court, its highest body, disagreed with the Chamber’s approach, quashed its resolutions, and kept the lower courts’ judgments in force, reaffirming invalidity of FAS’ acts.

These cases are the first disputes over the past two years where the Presidium of the Supreme Court has looked into a commercial dispute, and the first time in history (after the Higher Arbitrazh Court was merged with and into the Supreme Court in 2014) when the Presidium has resolved an antitrust case.

External links:
https://www.kommersant.ru/doc/3843264
https://pravo.ru/news/207924/