Journals set to appeal in court on 11 December

The final hearing date of 11 December has been set for Aberdeen Journals appeal against a £1.3m fine under the Competition Act 1998 for trying to close a smaller rival newspaper group.
Aberdeen Independent, a weekly free-sheet, complained to the Office of Fair Trading and won the David and Goliath battle earlier this year, after making its third complaint about the Journals.
But the Journals, publishers of The Press and Journal, and part of Northcliffe Newspapers, was found guilty of predatory practices. Paul Robins, Aberdeen Independent's MD, may launch a civil case to recoup some of the costs incurred by his rival's behaviour, depending on the result of the December 11 Court of Session case.