Trucking Trade Group Price-Fixing Class Action Lawsuit Overview:
- Who: The Competition Appeal Tribunal has ruled that a trucking trade group can pursue an opt-in price-fixing class action lawsuit.
- Why: The trucking class action lawsuit alleges truck manufacturers engaged in an illegal price-fixing scheme for medium-to-heavy trucks from 1997 to 2011.
- Where: The alleged trucking price-fixing took place in the European Economic Area.
Last week, the Competition Appeal Tribunal ruled that the Road Haulage Association (RHA), a trucking trade group, could pursue an opt-in price-fixing class action lawsuit over allegations truck manufacturers illegally coordinated list prices for certain trucks from 1997 to 2011.
Tha antitrust court will allow RHA to bring its collective proceedings if it amends the class definition and narrows the scope of its damages claim, Law360 reports.
RHA pursued its case on an opt-in basis in which claimants must actively choose to participate in the proceedings.
The Competition Appeal Tribunal says that the claims in the price-fixing class action must cover only trucks that are registered in the United Kingdom and contracts that were reached between Jan. 17, 1997, and Jan. 31, 2014, for new trucks, and through Jan. 31, 2015, for used trucks. This time frame is shorter than RHA initially sought.
Truck operators who work on a cost-plus basis in which they pass on their charges and fees to clients will be excluded from the price-fixing class action lawsuit, Law360 says.
However, RHA must narrow the definition of the class so that it only includes involvement with trucks instead of the RHA’s initial inclusion of vehicles used in “road haulage operations.”
An estimated 18,000 claimants may be eligible to opt-in to the trucking price-fixing class action lawsuit, according to court documents. The claim may be worth more than £2 billion.
European Commission says 90% of medium and heavy trucks sold in Europe between 1997-2011 may have been affected by price-fixing scheme
The European Commission estimates that 90% of medium and heavy trucks sold in Europe between 1997 and 2011 may have been affected by the trucking price-fixing scheme, potentially causing truck buyers to pay billions more than they would have without the conspiracy. It has already issued billions in fines and spurred collective actions in the UK and Europe from truckers who allegedly paid inflated prices for medium-to-heavy trucks due to the trucking price-fixing scheme.
Volvo, Daimler, Iveco, MAN and DAF, for example, face a price-fixing class action lawsuit by truck owners who claim the companies’ alleged price-fixing cartel for truck parts caused as much as £13 billion in damages.
The European Commission reportedly fined these companies €2.93 billion in 2016 for their alleged role in the scheme.
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