Stichting Claim Gran Petro

On 17 May, the District Court of The Hague found that it did not have full jurisdiction in a case brought by the Dutch Stichting Claim Gran Petro against Royal Dutch Shell, Shell Brazil Holding B.V. and Raizen S.A. with regard to a violation of competition law established by the Brazilian competition authority.[1] The District Court found that it lacked jurisdiction to rule on a claim against the Brazilian company Raizen S.A., due to the absence of a ‘connection’ of the claims against Raizen and the claim of the Dutch anchor defendant as required pursuant to Article 7 DCCP (the equivalent of 8(1) Brussels I Regulation Recast). The District Court held that it is insufficiently plausible that the Dutch anchor defendant was also involved in the infringement of Brazilian competition law and that it had been insufficiently established that the Dutch company could be liable under Brazilian law if it were part of the same undertaking. The proceedings against the Dutch and English companies could, however, be continued.

[1] District Court of The Hague 17 May 2023, ECLI:NL:RBDHA:2023:7099 (Stichting Claim Gran Petro/Raizen et al.).