Spanish court asks ECJ for guidance on truck cartel subsidiary liability

A Spanish second-instance court has decided to file a request for preliminary ruling before the European Court of Justice (ECJ) regarding subsidiaries’ liability in infringements committed by parent companies in the context of the Spanish truck cartel litigation.

According to a recent order seen by PaRR, the Audiencia Provincial de Barcelona will ask the ECJ whether its doctrine on “economic unity” allows for liability to be extended from subsidiary to parent company or from parent company to subsidiary indiscriminately.

Hundreds of damages claims have been lodged in Spain by truck owners following the July 2016 European Commission (EC) settlement decision imposing a EUR 2.92bn penalty on truck makers Daimler, Iveco, Volvo/Renault and DAF for fixing the prices of heavy and medium heavy trucks between 1997 and 2011.

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