Foreign corporations were sued for damage caused to Israeli consumers due to a restrictive arrangement to which they were parties. Within this framework, they coordinated prices, quantities and bids in the manufacturing of a component integrated into hard drives.
The Court held that the Israeli Court is the proper forum to adjudicate the lawsuit. To decide on the issue of the proper forum, the Court must address the following three questions: (a) which legal forum has the most significant connection to the dispute; (b) what are the reasonable expectations of the parties regarding the place of litigation; and (c) public policy considerations, including which forum has a "genuine interest" in adjudicating the lawsuit. In the context of international restrictive arrangements, the Israeli Court is the proper forum to hear motions to certify class actions for damages caused as a result thereof. This is both due to the Israeli Court being the forum with the most significant connection to the dispute, and in light of public considerations, by virtue of which the Israeli Court has a genuine interest in adjudicating the right of Israeli consumers to receive compensation for damages caused to them in Israel. Furthermore, the reasonable expectations test supports this conclusion as well, as a party to a restrictive arrangement should expect that a lawsuit against it will be litigated in the country where the damage was caused. Here, although there are several forums with ties to the matter, it is not possible to point to a single foreign forum to which the majority of contacts incline. Furthermore, the expectations and public considerations tests are also satisfied due to the harm caused to consumers in Israel. Hence, the Israeli Court is the proper forum to adjudicate the lawsuit.