Back in 2018, the Road Haulage Association (RHA) initiated a collective claim against the ‘truck cartel’ - truck manufacturers who were found to have been colluding over a 14-year period to keep prices of new trucks high.
This meant that those who had bought or leased trucks between 1997 and 2015 had likely overpaid, so the RHA is attempting to seek compensation in excess of £1 billion on behalf of its members (and some non-members).
In early 2023, we shared an update on the status of the claim but we have since seen the case progress much further. So just what has happened in the case since then? And what does it mean for those awaiting compensation?
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has confirmed that specialised trucks, such as dumper trucks, are covered by the European Commission’s decision on the EU truck cartel.
Previously, a Spanish court had ruled that an articulated dumper truck that was not intended for use on roads and was instead intended for use for industrial works, was not covered. However, the claimant appealed this decision so the court hearing the appeal asked the ECJ for guidance.
The ECJ confirmed that the European Commission’s decision also extended to dumper trucks, as there was nothing in the decision to suggest that they would not be covered.
As a result, operators that purchased or leased vehicles such as dumper trucks during the time period can include them within the claim.
In June 2023, the Supreme Court ruled on the first appeals arising from the truck cartel legal action, handing down 15 judgements ruling on these appeals.
The Supreme Court confirmed the rulings of various provincial courts which came to the conclusion that it could be presumed that there was damage in the form of an overprice for truck purchases during the time period. In the absence of certain proof of its quantification, the Supreme Court judicially estimated such damage at 5% of the purchase price of the truck.
The EU has given its final ruling on the Scania Cartel fine appeal, upholding the original €880m penalty imposed on Scania in 2017.
Back in February 2022, the General Court dismissed the action to annul the Commission’s decision upholding the fine and, in February 2024, the ECJ dismissed Scania’s claim in its entirety - upholding the General Court’s judgement.
This appeal represents the end of the road for Scania’s legal challenge of the fine imposed by the Commission.
In February 2024, the Court of Appeal in England and Wales ruled that DAF’s claims that Royal Mail and BT passed on any overcharges from the EU trucks cartel to their customers is “completely unreal”.
This confirmed that there was a 5% increase in prices charged to the claimants and demonstrated for the first time in the UK courts that one of the manufacturers has been found to have overcharged operators for trucks.
In March 2024, the Supreme Court handed down eight new judgements resolving the appeals for procedural infringement and cassation.
In this new batch of judgements, the Supreme Court assessed an expert report that was submitted with a series of cases and essentially confirmed the doctrine contained in the rulings of the first appeals in June 2023.
In June 2024, truck manufacturers successfully argued that the RHA cannot claim for both those affected by buying a new lorry and those affected by buying a second-hand lorry. They argued that, by doing this, the RHA would effectively be making a double claim on the same vehicle.
As a result, this ruling gave the RHA the right to split the original claim - allowing others to continue with their claims for second-hand lorries if the RHA pursues the claim for those affected by buying new lorries.
The RHA have formed a new company, known as RHA Used Trucks Ltd (RUTL), to enable it to continue with the action under a different name, so it’s likely that those part of the current RHA action group will be required to split their claim and opt-in under a Rule 81 Notice.
The Tribunal has required the RHA to make some final changes to the Rule 81 Notice, which will set out details such as how to opt in and the cut-off date for doing so. Claimants will likely have until the end of December this year to opt into the claim and those who don’t opt-in by the cut-off date will not be part of the claim - even if they’re already signed up or registered for the claim. All those wanting to be included need to go through the opt-in process.
The RHA will be contacting claimants to help them opt-in and preserve their claims. Third parties will also be seeking permission to access Vehicle Operator Licence details, in order to verify the number of trucks being claimed for and match this to list price data.
Due to the complex nature of this case, we don’t envisage the compensation issue being resolved anytime soon. The RHA remains confident that it will settle at some point but doesn’t expect to see a trial date before 2025, if it gets that far.
If you bought or leased a truck during the relevant time period and think you might be entitled to compensation, get in touch with us today.
