Competition Tribunal Adjusts to a ''Change in Circumstances''
BY D. JEFFREY BROWN
On May 30, 2005, the Competition Tribunal (the Tribunal) rescinded a consent agreement previously registered in September, 2003, on the basis of a "change in circumstances" pursuant to s. 106 of the Competition Act (the Act). The consent agreement had sought to resolve a concern expressed by the Commissioner of Competition (the Commissioner) that the acquisition by RONA Inc. (RONA) of Réno Dépôt and The Building Box "big box" home improvement stores from Kingfisher plc (Kingfisher) would substantially lessen competition in Sherbrooke, Quebec. To address this concern, the consent agreement had required that RONA divest to an independent third party the Réno Dépôt store in Sherbrooke.
Section 106 of the Act allows a consent agreement to be rescinded where "the circumstances that led to the making of the agreement or order have changed and, in the circumstances that exist at the time the application is made, the agreement or order would not have been made or would have been ineffective in achieving its intended purpose." In its submissions to the Tribunal, RONA argued that the consent agreement should be rescinded in light of Home Depot's subsequently confirmed intention to expand into Sherbrooke. The Commissioner opposed the application to rescind the consent agreement.
According to RONA, Sherbrooke was unique among the geographic markets considered by the Competition Bureau (the Bureau) in its 2003 examination of the RONA-Kingfisher transaction, insofar as it was the only market where Home Depot was not present as a competitor. Had it been present, RONA argued, Sherbrooke would have been indistinguishable from other geographic markets, in which case it would not have agreed to divest a store in that market.
The Commissioner submitted that RONA's application should be rejected on the basis that RONA had expected Home Depot to expand into Sherbrooke at some point, with the result that it could not now raise its intended entry as a material change of circumstances. The Commissioner also alleged that RONA had engaged in an abuse of process by deliberately trying to slow the divestiture process, contrary to the spirit of the consent agreement.
Upon evaluating the evidence, the Tribunal accepted RONA's contention that there had indeed been a change of circumstance within the meaning of s. 106 of the Act. According to the Tribunal, in September 2003 Home Depot had had no intention of expanding its operations into Sherbrooke. Therefore, Home Depot's subsequent decision to enter the Sherbrooke market presented a set of circumstances very different from those that led to the registering of the consent agreement.
The Tribunal rejected the Commissioner's argument that RONA could claim no change in circumstances since it had expected that Home Depot would eventually expand into Sherbrooke. The Tribunal distinguished jurisprudence on this point on the basis that the underlying rationale of such jurisprudence has been to prevent parties from failing to reveal facts and then subsequently arguing that they give rise to "new circumstances." The circumstances in this case, the Tribunal pointed out, were very different. Far from trying to hide its view that Home Depot would eventually expand into Sherbrooke, the Tribunal noted that RONA had tried unsuccessfully to convince the Bureau of this fact both before and after signing the consent agreement.
The Tribunal went even further, criticizing the Commissioner's decision to insist that the divestiture take place even after Home Depot's intention to expand into Sherbrooke became clear. The Tribunal went so far as to suggest that the Commissioner has a duty to stay attuned to the changing circumstances regarding the consent agreement, and should have agreed to revise the consent agreement once it had proof of Home Depot's expansion into Sherbrooke. The force and effect of a consent agreement, the Tribunal said, goes beyond merely carrying out its terms, to include ensuring that implementation of the consent agreement continues to make sense in the circumstances.
The Tribunal also rejected the Commissioner's allegation that RONA had engaged in an abuse of process by unnecessarily frustrating the divestiture process. According to the Tribunal, none of RONA's actions throughout the proceedings constituted an abuse of process. Rather, RONA made every effort to divest the Sherbrooke Réno Dépôt store to a buyer who met the criteria outlined in the consent agreement (i.e., "to a buyer wishing to operate the business principally for the retail sale of home improvement products"). Given a limited pool of potential buyers for big-box format stores of this type, RONA was unsuccessful in its attempt to divest the store within the time limits prescribed by the consent agreement, with the result that, as permitted by the consent agreement, the Commissioner appointed a trustee to effect the divestiture.
The Commissioner also alleged that RONA had engaged in an abuse of process by availing itself of certain rights under the consent agreement. However, the Tribunal rejected this allegation as well. The Tribunal noted that the consent agreement was negotiated and signed by both parties, each of whom was represented by competent legal counsel. As such, it could not be an abuse of process for RONA to exercise its rights under the consent agreement (including the right to object to the trustee's divestiture of the Sherbrooke store if the divestiture did not comply with the provisions of the consent agreement).
Stikeman Elliott LLP acted as counsel to Kingfisher in RONA's original 2003 acquisition of the Réno Dépôt and The Building Box stores.
