Osborne Clarke, with partners Federico Banti and Enrico Fabrizi, has been appointed to act for the Dutch Foundation, Stichting Trucks Cartel Compensation, supported by the litigation funder Omni Bridgeway, in a claim for follow-on damages that the Foundation will bring on behalf of the members of the Italian associations of road hauliers and in particular ANITA, ASSOTIR, CONFARTIGIANATO TRASPORTI, FAI, FIAP, UNITAI, and SNA CASARTIGIANI against the truck manufacturers (Volvo/Renault, Man, Daimler/Mercedes, Iveco, DAF and Scania) that had previously been fined by the European Commission for their violation of the competition rules and in particular for having realised a pricing cartel in the period from 1997 to 2011.
This is the first group action in Italy organised by an association of Italian businesses, for its associate members, with the support of a litigation funder.
The claim - which will be brought in Holland before the Court of Amsterdam once the first round of necessary documents has been collected – does not involve any cost or risk for the associates, and will be presented on behalf of all associates of the Stichting Trucks Cartel Compensation Foundation, which will bear all costs and appear as plaintiff, thus ensuring that the road hauliers themselves will not have to bear the relevant burdens of the action in person.
Osborne Clarke will advise jointly with the Dutch Studio Loyens & Loeff and the competition economists CEG.
