Corrugated cardboard (Italy)
Background: the Italian corrugated cardboard cartels
In Italy, for approximately 14 years, from February 2004 to March 2017, as many as 34 producers of corrugated cardboard sheets and corrugated cardboard packaging colluded to inflate prices, charging purchasing companies more than they would have paid in a competitive market.
The unlawful cartels were identified and sanctioned by the AGCM – Autorità Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato (Italian Competition Authority), which, in its decision of 17 July 2019, established the existence of two price-fixing agreements concerning the sale and marketing of corrugated cardboard sheets and corrugated cardboard packaging respectively.
The Regional Administrative Court of Lazio and subsequently the Council of State fully upheld the existence of the cartels, paving the way for damage claims by thousands of companies that purchased corrugated cardboard sheets and packaging between 2004 and 2017.
The right to compensation
Anyone who purchased corrugated cardboard between 2004 and 2017 is entitled to claim damages for the higher prices paid as a result of the unlawful cartels of corrugated cardboard sheets and packaging.
The AGCM’s decision, upheld by the administrative courts, is binding on the competent Italian court, the Tribunale delle Imprese, and places the existence of the cartels, the nature of the infringement and the presumption of harm to purchasers beyond dispute.
The anti-competitive cartels resulted in a significant overcharge, to which must be added interest accruing from the date of the individual purchases until the payment of damages.
The total compensation is then to be determined as the sum of the net overcharge plus interest.
The solution: a single large compensation action
BE CAUSE and CDC have joined forces to take legal action against the Italian corrugated cardboard cartels, at no cost and risk to participants.
BE CAUSE is the first and only Alternative Investment Fund (AIF) in the litigation finance sector in Italy. For more than 20 years, CDC has been the leader in cartel damages actions in Europe.
BE CAUSE and CDC have proposed that the parties harmed by the cartels exercise their right to compensation through a single legal action, brought by BE CAUSE in its own name on behalf of all damaged parties.
This is an original solution which has all the advantages of a collective action with funding of litigation costs and, at the same time, reducing the duration and procedural risks.
For further information, please visit the case website www.risarcimentocartoneondulato.it.