pipelife-finland-competition-case-sac

We advised Pipelife Finland Oy in a landmark competition law dispute before the Supreme Administrative Court of Finland

November 06, 2025

Finland
Finland
Finland

On 3 November 2025, the Supreme Administrative Court of Finland (SAC) dismissed the appeal filed by the Finnish Competition and Consumer Authority (FCCA) concerning legal costs in a competition law case. The case related to alleged prohibited cooperation in the market for plastic infrastructure pipes in Finland and involved several pipe manufacturers and wholesalers.

After a lengthy investigation and court proceedings, in August 2024 the Market Court rejected the FCCA’s proposal for the imposition of fines, finding that the authority had not presented sufficient evidence to support its allegations. The Market Court also ordered the FCCA to reimburse part of the companies’ legal costs.

The FCCA did not appeal the Market Court’s decision on the substance of the case but sought to overturn the ruling on legal costs. The Supreme Administrative Court upheld the Market Court’s decision and further ordered the FCCA to compensate part of the companies’ costs incurred in the appeal proceedings before the SAC.

We successfully represented Pipelife Finland Oy throughout the process – from the FCCA’s surprise inspection to the Supreme Administrative Court’s final decision – over a period of more than nine years.

Our team consisted of Partner Niina Rosenlund, Partner Olli Hyvönen, Counsel Heidi Markus, Associate Vivian Villa, and Associate Alex Niva.

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niina.rosenlund@eversheds.fi

Niina Rosenlund

Partner

Helsinki, Finland

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