The Court Dispute between Leo Mobility and České dráhy to End with an Amicable Settlement

Leo Mobility will not continue to pursue legal proceedings concerning the under-pricing allegedly practised by České dráhy on the Prague – Ostrava railway line. Neither the European Commission nor the Office for the Protection of Competition found out any anti-competitive behaviour and closed their investigations some time ago. The companies have now agreed upon an amicable settlement and the discontinuation of the related litigation pending before the Czech courts.

Leo Mobility and České dráhy expect the agreement to settle their mutual relations and at the same time to improve the conditions for further development of sustainable public transport based on the principles of healthy competition in terms of price and quality of service.

“The case dragged on for many years and the decisions adopted by the European Commission and by the Office for the Protection of Competition are a satisfaction for us. The current agreement made with Leo Mobility concerns the related national litigation in this case. It will certainly benefit our mutual relations,” says Michal Krapinec, Chairman of the Board of Directors and CEO of České dráhy.

Leo Mobility and České dráhy have agreed after mutual negotiations following up to the decision adopted by the European Commission of 29 September 2022 and the decision of the Czech Office for the Protection of Competition of 10 February 2023, which did not confirm the investigated suspicions of possible anti-competitive behaviour of České dráhy on the Prague – Ostrava line, in the form of a court-approved amicable settlement that Leo Mobility will not continue with the related disputes and will thus no longer assert any claims in court proceedings on the basis of České dráhy’s fare determination on the Prague – Ostrava railway line.

The European Commission closed its antitrust investigation into alleged under-pricing on the Prague – Ostrava route last September. On the basis of all the evidence submitted by the national carrier, it found no fault on the part of České dráhy. The case, referred to by the European Commission as “Falcon”, had been under investigation for about 12 years and concerned the alleged abuse of a dominant position by České dráhy on the Prague – Ostrava railway line.

“Since the very beginning, České dráhy has insisted that there was no illegal conduct on its part. It has provided the European Commission with a lot of evidence of this. Subsequently, the Office for the Protection of Competition also found no wrongdoing on the part of České dráhy,” concludes Michal Krapinec.