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Showing posts with label trucks. Show all posts
Showing posts with label trucks. Show all posts

Tuesday, 2 August 2016

RHA to represent the haulage industry in cartel claim

The Road Haulage Association (see its Press release) will represent its members by seeking compensation from the truck manufacturers who were recently penalised for their involvement in a price-fixing cartel, as Motor Law has reported previously. Although leniency was shown to the whistle-blower in the European Commission's investigation, that does not mean that they will be immune to claims for damages from those who have suffered from the effects of the cartel.

There are also likely to be claims in other EU Member States, and we will try to keep readers informed of developments.

Competition authorities have been keen for some time to encourage claims for damages, to drive home the message that cartels and other forms of prohibited conduct have victims. Under section 47A of the Competition Act 1998, a person who has suffered loss or damage because of a relevant infringement of EU or UK competition rules may claim damages and an injunction in proceedings before the Competition Appeal Tribunal or the courts of any part of the UK.

The government has produced guidance on the matter,  Quick guide to private litigation in competition cases.

Tuesday, 23 December 2014

Commission's statement of objections in truck cartel case

The European Commission has been investigating a cartel in the truck industry since at least 2011, when it carried out a series of dawn raids. It has indicated before that the cartel was a very old one. Now the Financial Times has come into possession of leaked documents (reported here) which tell us rather more about the investigation. Apparently the cartelists made agreements about the introduction of emissions technology, dating back to 1997. It involved DAF, Daimler, Iveco, Scania, Volvo (which also owns Renault Trucks) and MAN. It was the last-named of these which blew the whistle in the case.

No point in repeating what the FT reported, and anyway hard to do without risking an infringement of copyright. More in the next Motor Law newsletter, if I find more!