The Supreme Court of Appeal's decision to let a big company off the hook for its role in a bread cartel means that the Competition Commission needs to clarify its leniency policy, experts have said. The SCA ruled recently that the Competition Tribunal's declaration that Premier Foods engaged in prohibited anti-competitive behaviour was invalid.Because of the court ruling, labour federation Cosatu, the National Consumer Forum and others planning a class action lawsuit against the cartel cannot sue Premier Foods.During the investigation into the bread cartel in the Western Cape in 2006, Premier Foods applied for immunity under the commission's corporate leniency policy in exchange for assisting the investigation.It gave evidence against Tiger Brands and Pioneer Foods, and also blew the whistle on Foodcorp.Despite this, the Competition Tribunal declared that Premier Foods had broken competition law, opening it up to civil claims - which now can no longer be pursued. ..