© Reuters. The Volvo emblem is seen in truck on the market in Linden, New Jersey, U.S., Could 23, 2022. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly
By Foo Yun Chee
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Swedish truckmaker Volvo and Paccar (NASDAQ:)’s DAF Vans might be sued for compensation by a Spanish claimant over a truckmakers’ cartel, Europe’s high courtroom mentioned on Wednesday, in a ruling that would spur extra claims towards the cartel members.
Each corporations, Daimler (OTC:) and Italy’s Iveco have been fined a file 2.9 billion euros ($3 billion) in 2016 by the European Fee for fixing costs and coordinating on the introduction of recent emission applied sciences.
The EU competitors watchdog mentioned the cartel lasted from 1997 till 2011. Volvo was fined 670.45 million euros and DAF Vans 752.68 million.
AB Volvo and DAF Vans have been subsequently sued for damages in 2018 in a Spanish courtroom which ordered the businesses to pay the claimant who had purchased three vans from them. Judges set the compensation at 15% of the acquisition value of the autos.
The truckmakers had argued the declare was time-barred due to the five-year limitation interval below Spanish legislation for transposing the EU damages directive into that nation’s legislation, and appealed towards the judgment.
The Spanish courtroom sought steerage from the Luxembourg-based Courtroom of Justice of the European Union (CJEU). The CJEU mentioned the declare was inside the time restrict.
The judgment may set off claimants in Germany in an analogous scenario, mentioned Ann-Christin Richter, deputy managing companion at legislation agency Hausfeld which has introduced damages claims towards numerous cartels.
“The ruling is of big significance for vans cartel damages proceedings in Germany because it postpones general limitation by one yr,” she mentioned.
“Whereas the prevailing view up to now was that limitation below German legislation has already expired, the ruling signifies that claims can nonetheless be introduced in Germany for a number of months,” Richter mentioned.
The case is C-267/20 Volvo and DAF Vans.
($1 = 0.9441 euros)
