On 13 April 2021, the German Bundesgerichtshof set aside an earlier judgment of the Schleswig-Holstein Court of Appeal in the German antitrust case against Daimler and ruled that the case be heard again.[1] This judgment stated that Daimler was liable for paying damages to an anonymised freight forwarder, that had purchased nine vehicles from Daimler and DAF.

The judgment of the German Bundesgerichtshof shows that the Schleswig-Holstein Court of Appeal made a legal error in assessing the circumstances in order to determine whether damage had occurred. The Schleswig-Holstein Court of Appeal had wrongly failed to take into account the advice from the private expert report submitted by Daimler and DAF, which contained a comparative market analysis that concluded that there had been no cartel-related price increases. According to the Bundesgerichtshof, the argument that the claimant was able to pass on the increase of its purchase costs was also wrongly rejected.

[1] Bundesgerichtshof 13 April 2021, ECLI:DE:BGH:2021:130421UKZR19.20.0 (Klägerin v. Daimler AG).