Conflicting counterfactuals: The High Court disagrees with the CAT, ruling that MasterCard's multilateral interchange fees are lawful

The High Court’s judgment concerned substantially similar issues to those addressed by the CAT in July 2016. In that earlier case, the CAT found against MasterCard, and awarded damages of £68.5 million to Sainsbury’s. The decisions were on the same subject matter and made within a little over six months of each other, yet arrived at diametrically opposing outcomes. This article explores the different approaches taken by the courts, and what might happen next.