In a 27 January 2021 decision, Rotterdam District Court ruled that Shell, Total and Kuwait Petroleum were allowed to summon other participants in the Bitumen Cartel as third parties to the proceedings. This was in the context of the claim for damages brought against them by the State of the Netherlands. The third parties summoned are BP Europa SE, Wintershall AG, Nynas Belgium AB and SNV. In addition, Shell, Total and Kuwait had requested the District Court to allow them to summon other entities as third parties at a later stage, but the District Court denied this request. In a 13 September 2006 decision, these parties were fined by the European Commission for their participation in a cartel in which a total of eight suppliers of bitumen for road construction made arrangements on sale and purchase prices and on applying unequal conditions vis-à-vis trade partners.[1]

[1] Rotterdam District Court 27 January 2021, ECLI:NL:RBROT:2021:793.