The General Court dismisses Scania’s action and maintains the fine of €880.52 million imposed by the Commission for Scania’s participation in a cartel between truck manufacturers The General Court provides clarification on, first, the legality of a ‘hybrid’ procedure combining the settlement procedure and the standard administrative procedure in cartel matters and, second, the concept of a ‘single and continuous infringement

Link: General Court of the European Union.

BRUSSELS, Feb 2 (Reuters) - Truckmaker Scania has lost its legal battle to overturn an 880.5 million euro ($992.5 million) fine imposed by European Union antitrust regulators for participation in a cartel.

Link: Reuters.

Volkswagen AG’s Scania unit lost its fight against a 880.5 million-euro ($994 million) fine from European Union regulators for fixing truck prices.

Link: Bloomberg.

Following record fines imposed by the European Commission on the main European truck manufacturers, under preliminary references, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has recently ruled on certain procedural issues relating to the actions for damages brought before national courts by the victims of the trucks cartel.

Link: JDSUPRA.

The annual report of Stichting Truck Claim can be downloaded here.

In this latest instalment of the Trucks Cartel saga, the Amsterdam District Court (“District Court”) refutes the cartelists’ arguments by ruling that the issue of the award of damages is still on the table. The liability of the cartelist is thereby established. This is the first step in the actual award of damages. The next step is for the claimants to substantiate their claim. It is up to the individual claimants to plausibly prove the existence of a causal link between the unlawful act and the loss suffered.

The annual report of Stichting Truck Claim can be downloaded here.

The annual report of Stichting Truck Claim can be downloaded here.

The homepage of Stichting Truck Claim (“the Foundation”) has been relaunched. As the Foundation is now further in its proceedings we have implemented our new Claim Platform. 

Anticipated to bring a showcase of litigation in the coming years, claims following the European Commission’s July 2016 finding on the trucks cartel are gathering speed, and while liability has already been established, proving pass-on will be a complex task. Link for more information.

The European Commission has found that Scania broke EU antitrust rules. It colluded for 14 years with five other truck manufacturers on truck pricing and on passing on the costs of new technologies to meet stricter emission rules. Link for more information. 

On September 22, 2017 the District Court of Amsterdam published a landmark decision endorsing the assignment model of litigation whereby claimants from all over Europe who are victims of cartels can pool their claims in a single legal case in order to obtain damages for the overcharge paid as a result of the cartel. This decision was rendered in the case of victims of the air cargo cartel against air cargo carriers who participated in a price-fixing cartel between the years 1999 and 2006.

The homepage of Stichting Truck Claim (“the Foundation”) is now online. The Foundation represents the interests of corporate owners who bought or leased medium (GVW 6-16 tons) and/or heavy-duty trucks (GVW over 16 tons) between 1997 and 2011 and who suffered damages because of the wrongdoings of the cartel. If you are a potential victim you can register for further information and participation as of today.

Today the Stichting Truck Claim (“the Foundation”) is a non-profit foundation duly founded under the laws of the Netherlands with its registered seat in Rotterdam. 

On 19 July 2016 the European Commission imposed a record fine of € 2.93 billion against the truckmakers cartel (DAF, Daimler, Iveco, MAN and Volvo/Renault). DAF has put aside € 850 million, Volvo/Renault € 650 million, Daimler € 600 million (+ unidentified amount in 2011) and Iveco € 450 million to pay the fine.

The Truck Cartel was operating for 14 years (1997-2011) and consisted of five major European truck manufacturers– DAF, Daimler, Iveco, MAN and Volvo/Renault. The cartel participants have agreed to fix prices for their vehicles. Furthermore, the cartel agreed on the timing and price increase levels for the introduction of new emission technologies. Affected truck classes are medium (6-16 tons) and heavy trucks (>16 tons).