On 9 December 2021, an appeal court in Stuttgart handed down a judgment in a truck cartel follow-on action in favour of truck manufacturer Daimler.[1] In 2018, the lower Stuttgart court ordered Daimler to pay compensation to two German construction firms on account of its involvement in the truck cartel.[2] The firms were seeking damages of around €300,000 as compensation for purchased trucks and overpriced liability insurance premiums. After several rounds of appeal before the Stuttgart appeal court (which upheld the judgment at first instance) and the Federal Court of justice (which overturned the appeal court ruling),[3] the case was sent back for reconsideration by the Stuttgart appeal court. The Federal Court of Justice said the appeal court had erred in finding that the claimant construction firms suffered damage because of the cartel. In reaction to the judgment, Daimler declared the following in a statement: “We are still convinced that our customers haven’t suffered any damage. The EU Commission didn’t make any determination in its decision on the question of damage to customers. In addition, there are already some final judgments dismissing actions.”^[4]

[1] Stuttgart higher regional court, 2 U 101/18.

[2] Stuttgart regional court, 45 O 1/17.

[3] Federal Court of Justice, KZR 35/19.

[4] According to Mlex, ‘Daimler overturns truck-cartel claims ruling in Stuttgart appeal court’, 10 December 2021.