On 6 October 2021, the Court of Justice of the European Union rendered its judgment in Case C-882/19, Sumal SL v Mercedes Benz Trucks España SL. Following the Opinion of Advocate General Pitruzzella, the CJEU has confirmed that, under certain conditions, a subsidiary which is not the addressee of the administrative decision can be held liable for the damages caused by the infringement for which the parent company has been fined.
Trucks cartel: AG Pitruzzella’s opinion on civil liability of subsidiaries for competition law infringements of the undertaking
On 15 April 2021 the CJEU’s Advocate General (AG) Pitruzzella handed down his opinion in the preliminary ruling procedure relating to the Trucks cartel litigation in Spain. The Barcelona Provincial Court (‘Barcelona Court’) requested the CJEU to interpret EU law on the question of whether a subsidiary company is liable for damages where the Commission has only fined the parent company for anticompetitive behavior. The AG in Case C-882/19 takes the view that, subject to conditions, a subsidiary without being addressee of the cartel decision can be held liable for the damages caused by the infringement. The Opinion, when confirmed by the CJEU, has as well implications on the question of where victims of Europe-wide cartel behavour might bring claims for damages.
EU Directive strengthens competition authorities of the Member States to be more effective enforcers of EU competition law
On 11 December 2018, Directive (EU) 2019/1 of the European Parliament and of the Council to empower the competition authorities of the Member States to be more effective enforcers and to ensure the proper functioning of the internal market was adopted. The Directive aims to enable national competition authorities (NCAs) to be more effective enforcers of EU competition […]
The Elevators & Escalators cartel revisited in light of the Skanska case: on the impact of the effectiveness principle on the private enforcement of EU competition law
On 14 March 2019, the CJEU handed down a landmark judgment in the Skanska case. Following the opinion of AG Wahl, the CJEU found that the competition law concept of ‘undertaking’ is applicable as well in actions for damages for breaches of EU competition law. Consequently, each company that is part of the infringing economic unit can be […]
AG Wahl advises the CJEU following preliminary questions in a Finnish cartel damage case on the relationship between European law and domestic law in the private enforcement of competition law
In a recently published opinion in a Finnish cartel damage case, Advocate General (AG) Wahl discussed the important issue of the relationship between European competition law and private liability law (opinion delivered on 6 February 2019 in the case C-724/17). According to AG Wahl, liability for a breach of European competition law follows directly from European competition […]
Scope of parental liability in the Finnish asphalt cartel case
The competition law community is awaiting the preliminary ruling by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in relation to questions posed by the Finnish Supreme Court in the follow-on damages proceedings brought in the Finnish asphalt cartel case by the City of Vantaa against Skanska Industrial Solutions Oy, NCC Industry Oy and Asfaltmix Oy (Case […]
First Spanish Judgments in trucks cartel follow-on actions
The trucks cartel sanctioned by the European Commission in July 2016 has provoked a flood of individual claims all over Spain. They were filed by all types of transport and logistics companies against the six sanctioned manufacturers, their Spanish subsidiaries and even their financial services providers. Apart from several decisions on jurisdiction and access to […]