Permission
to appeal partially granted in trucks cartel litigation
The
Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) has granted limited permissions to appeal in
challenges brought in the UK trucks cartel litigation (UK Trucks Claim Limited
v Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V. and Others and Road Haulage Association
Limited v Man SE and others).
In
June 2022 the CAT granted and refused collective proceedings orders (CPO) in
the claims, under section 47B of the Competition Act 1998.
The
litigation follows on from the European Commission’s 2016 trucks cartel
decision.
The
CAT previously ruled that both the UK Trucks Claim (UKTC) and Road Haulage
Association (RHA) claims were suitable for collective proceedings, but the RHA
opt-in claim was more practical despite more risks from a funding perspective.
UKTC
sought permission to appeal the ruling on the basis that the CAT had incorrectly
refused the opt-out application or should have accepted it to the extent not
covered by the RHA opt-in application.
While
the CAT dismissed the majority of the UKTC appeal grounds, it granted
permission to appeal based on the assessment of the inclusion of new and used
trucks in the RHA class definition, and the argument that if the RHA CPO had
been confined to used trucks only, it should be considered whether the UKTC
application should be allowed.
The
CAT did not say that it had erred in its conclusion but reflected that it had
considered multiple applications. At this
relatively new time in the development of the UK class action regime, the CAT
considered this merits review by the Court of Appeal.
The
CAT also granted defendants MAN and DAF permission to appeal against the
certification decision on one limited ground relating to the suitability of the
RHA’s claim to proceed on a collective basis.
As
a result, the CAT stayed the opt-in collective damages claim to allow the
competing claimant group to challenge its certification decision.
UK
Trucks Claim Limited v Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V. and others and DAF Trucks
NV and others and Road Haulage Association Limited v MAN SE and others and
Daimler AG [2022] CAT
48, ruling (permission to appeal)
