Munich – The largest claim for damages related to a major price-fixing cartel among European truck manufacturers was thrown out by a court in Germany, on Friday.
The Munich Regional Court ruled the claim for almost 900 million euros (986 million dollars) legally inadmissible, saying that it violated legal services law.
More than 3,000 haulers and logistics firms in nine European countries filed a lawsuit seeking compensation from MAN, Daimler, DAF, Iveco and Volvo-Renault, who had been exchanging price information for years.
They were demanding 867 million euros in damages for being overcharged on the sales of 84,000 trucks.
The case was brought by Financialright Claims on behalf of the buyers, which would have kept a third of the sum had the suit been successful.
The regional court is also to rule on a second Financialright claim for over 541 million euros.
There are an additional 110 proceedings playing out in Munich in connection with the cartel.
This includes cases brought by Germany’s state-owned railway company, Deutsche Bahn, which together with the Bundeswehr military and other companies, is suing the truck cartel for half a billion euros.
(dpa/NAN)
