Germany's top court is set to announce its ruling on Tuesday in a multimillion-euro damages lawsuit brought by buyers of lorries after the European Union fined major manufacturers for illegal pricing agreements.
The European Commission had imposed fines totalling nearly €4 billion ($4.7 billion) on major lorry makers Volvo/Renault, Daimler, Iveco, Scania and DAF for breaching EU antitrust rules by colluding on pricing between 1997 and 2011.
MAN was not fined as it served as a key witness in the case.
The buyers of some 70,000 allegedly overpriced lorries are seeking around €500 million in damages from the manufacturers. They have assigned their claims to debt collection and legal services provider Financialright Claims, which is acting as the sole plaintiff and will receive a 33% commission if successful.
The lawsuit failed in the first instance at the Munich Regional Court, with the judges ruling that Financialright Claims was not entitled to claim because the assignments violated the Legal Services Act and were therefore void.
The Higher Regional Court came to a different conclusion on appeal. Several lorry manufacturers appealed that decision, meaning the case was transferred to the Federal Court of Justice (BGH), which is based in the western city of Karlsruhe. It is now to decide whether the damages can be claimed jointly through a debt collection agency.
