Photo credits @ Bartosz Wawryszuk

One last chance for class action against truck manufacturers’ cartel

Hauliers have the opportunity to pursue claims against HGV manufacturers who have colluded with prices over the years.

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The renowned LegalTech platform Financialright Trucks has officially announced that it will file a new class action lawsuit against the truck manufacturers’ cartel. This means that injured companies will have one last chance to pursue their claims at no cost to them.

In addition to the classic assignment model, in which Financialright Trucks pursues compensation claims on behalf of the damaged companies, a full buy-out of claims is also offered, in which the companies can receive an immediate purchase price for pursuing compensation claims within the cartel without having to wait for out-of-court measures or court proceedings against the truck manufacturer cartel, Financialright Trucks 24 GmbH explains in an official release.

Price fixing by truck manufacturers has been the subject of legal disputes for years. Recall that in July 2016 and September 2017, the European Commission found a cartel and imposed record fines on the companies involved. The new class action, organised by Financialright Trucks, is an opportunity for hauliers who have not yet filed a claim to recover overpaid prices for the vehicles they bought.

The initiation of the new joint action is a further step in our mission to enforce the rights of those injured by large cartels and to fight for fair compensation, explains Dr Sven Bode, Managing Director of Financialright Trucks 24 GmbH, which will pursue the claim as a legal service provider.

This approach offers the opportunity to pursue compensation claims without any financial risk, adds Bode. This is made possible by the so-called ‘no win, no fee’ approach.

This means that a commission is only paid to the legal service provider if the case is successful and the legal service provider pays all the legal costs.

If an out-of-court or court claim is unsuccessful, the client will not incur any costs, adds the law firm. It points out that collective redress is becoming increasingly important in case law, with the German Federal Court of Justice (BGH) seeing comprehensive redress as an effective way forward.

The Federal Court of Justice’s confirmation of the class actions offered by Financialright Trucks shows that this is a sensible and effective way of helping affected companies to assert their rights, says Dr Katharina Kolb, a partner at the law firm Lieff Cabraser, which is leading the proceedings and is already representing the claims of more than 50,000 trucks in parallel proceedings.

Behind Financial Right Trucks’ decision to file another class action lawsuit is a recent ruling by the Court of Justice of the European Union (1 February this year), in which the CJEU rejected Scania’s appeal against a lower court ruling confirming the manufacturer’s participation in the cartel.

The Financialright Trucks offer is aimed at all companies that bought or leased new trucks between 1997 and 2014 and have not yet filed a claim for a truck manufacturer cartel action. The Financialright Trucks service is available to companies who wish to receive further information and discuss the possibility of joining a class action, the law firm said.

Free registration is available at www.anti-cartel-alliance.com.

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