Edoardo Lombardi

As Counsel in our Dispute Resolution and Commercial practice groups I assist clients in civil and commercial litigation matters, as well as in commercial agreements and corporate transactions between companies active in energy & utilities, in the transport market and in the food and beverage industry. I spent ten years in the Rome office, joining during its initial set up, and now work in Milan.

Advising our domestic and international clients on contentious matters and contractual issues relating to corporate and commercial law, I assist on a number of sectors, including energy & utilities, transport, food & beverage and sport. In recent years, I have represented primary operators before the national courts and the regulatory bodies overseeing the energy, transport and technology sectors. I specialise in complex disputes relating to sale and distribution of gas and to public transport of passenger.

I also have extensive experience in dealing with the commercial issues that companies face day by day. In relation to the sport area, I have developed significant experience in the disputes between clubs and professional athletes before the Basketball Arbitral Tribunal of Geneva.

One of the aims in my relationship with clients has always been to ensure immediate feedback and advice on a day to day basis.

Before joining the team at Bird & Bird in 2005, I worked with a traditional law firm in Naples, focusing on civil litigation, insolvency procedures and arbitration, and advising clients on commercial and contractual issues.

• I have been assisting an Italian public transport company in two complex lawsuits concerning state aid allegedly received by the company for public transport services and infrastructure. The public administration involved has claimed to recover over €10 million, assuming that the compensation allocated to the client for the public transportation services, rendered by the company during the period 2008 to 2012, shall be considered as exceeding the costs incurred by the company plus a reasonable profit, in alleged violation of the Regulation (EC) n. 1370/17 and of the ruling of the European Court of Justice in the Case C-280/00. In full confirmation of our legal defence in the case, the evidence filed by the technical advisor appointed by the Court confirmed that no exceeding compensation was allocated at all by the public administration in favour of the company and that, on the contrary, a residual amount was due to the company itself. The judgement of the Court, setting an important precedent in regards to the public transportation industry and state aid in Italy, accepted in full our legal arguments.
• On a day to day basis I advise one of the world's leading elevator companies, with strong engineering capabilities in a multidisciplinary range of legal issues, concerning, among others, its business relationship with partners and competitors in the construction and technology sectors.
• I have recently obtained an important positive decision from the Court of Milan for a company active in the sale of natural gas over the Italian territory, in a complex litigation proceeding against its former wholesale gas supplier. The matter concerned the retroactive disapplication, firmly challenged by our client, of a decision of the Italian Energy and Gas Authority, providing for a sharp decrease of the wholesale gas prices between the parties. The Court, fully accepting the arguments of the client, stated that the shipper's request of payment was contrary to the principle of non-retroactivity of the law and that the legitimate expectations of the client were to be protected.
• I've been instructed by an Italian gas distribution company to represent it in a number of complex proceedings against several retail energy sales companies, concerning the allegedly wrong application of the technical rules of the Italian Code of Gas Distribution relating to the measurements of gas allocated by the distributor among the Italian gas network. The companies involved in those lawsuits are also challenging the breach of several contractual obligations arising from wholesale gas agreements. Our strategy, shared with the client, is to prove that no contractual obligation has been infringed by the distributor and that no damage can be claimed by the sale companies.

• In 2018 we advised a company which participates in the Italian Series A basketball championships in two complex arbitration proceedings before the Basketball Arbitral Tribunal of Geneva (BAT). BAT is an independent body, officially recognised and established by FIBA (the world governing body for basketball), which provides services for the resolution of disputes between players, agents, coaches and clubs through arbitration. The company took part in the Italian Series A championship in 2017-2018 and reached the finals in the 2018 FIBA Basketball Champions League as well. The said arbitration proceedings concern an alleged breach of agreements relating to both sport performances and the image rights of two professional basketball players licensed to the company. Both arbitral proceedings before the BAT have been ruled by awards which have accepted arguments of the club, mainly dismissing player's requests for relief.