A landmark UK opt-in collective competition claim by thousands of haulage businesses against participants in the European truck makers cartel has finally been given the go-ahead, six years after it was launched. 

The Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) has this week granted the Road Haulage Association (RHA), advised by Addleshaw Goddard and specialist transport firm Backhouse Jones Solicitors, a collective proceedings order allowing it to bring its claim against the truck manufacturers MAN, DAF and Iveco. 

The RHA is seeking damages of up to £2bn on behalf of truck operators it claims were overcharged when they purchased trucks from the manufacturers, who were among five companies found to have breached competition law by the European Commission in 2016 by operating a cartel spanning 14 years.

It is the UK’s first-ever ‘opt-in’ class action under the collective actions regime established by the Consumer Rights Act (2015) as well as being the first such action to feature a separately represented sub-class of claimants.

The case has had many twists and turns since it was launched in 2018 and features a host of law firms, including Slaughter and May, Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF), Travers Smith, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Macfarlanes along with numerous counsel.

In 2022, the CAT ruled that RHA should lead an opt-in case against the cartel members, favouring its claim to a rival, opt-out action.

However, the Court of Appeal ruled there was a conflict between members of the class who purchased new trucks and those who purchased used vehicles. 

In order for the claim to proceed, the RHA has set up a limited company with its own legal team, economist and funding arrangement to represent the sub-class of used-truck buyers.

According to the CAT’s judgment, this arrangement includes the appointment of Giles Maynard-Connor KC, of Exchange Chambers, “purely to act as a conflicts supervisor” to whom both groups “can refer any matter arising out of the conflicts issue to him for an independent opinion as to the adequacy of their proposals as to how it should be dealt with”.

Addleshaws’ global head of disputes, Mark Molyneux, said: “This ruling is a significant milestone that allows us to move forward to secure the compensation that truck operators have long awaited.”

More than 18,000 operators have already signed up to the claim, according to the RHA, which calculates that compensation per new truck purchased could amount to £6,000 including interest. There is a December deadline for claimants to opt into the scheme. 

A host of law firms and counsel have been advising on the case, which also led to last year’s landmark Supreme Court PACCAR ruling, which rendered thousands of litigation funding agreements unenforceable and whose impact is yet to be resolved. 

Leeds-based commercial boutique Tyr is advising RHA Used Trucks Limited, with MAN, DAF and Iveco respectively turning to Slaughter and May, HSF and Travers Smith. 

CAT president Mr Justice Peter Roth oversaw the collective proceedings hearings, sitting with Dr William Bishop and Professor Stephen Wilks.

Silks from Brick Court Chambers featured heavily in the hearings, which took place over two days in June and on 18 July: James Flynn KC acted for the RHA, David Scannell KC appeared for RHA Used Trucks Ltd, Daniel Jowell KC was fielded by MAN while Mark Hoskins KC, instructed by Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, appeared for Volvo/Renault, which was an objector. 

Henderson Chambers’ James White appeared for Iveco, while Meredith Pickford KC and Ben Rayment, of Monckton Chambers, represented DAF and Daimler respectively. Daimler, which appeared as an objector, was advised by Macfarlanes. 

Hailsham Chambers’ Jamie Carpenter KC appeared for all three proposed defendants at the June hearings.

The case’s approval by the CAT provides a major boost to the UK’s collective claims regime. CMS’s 2024 European Class Action Report, which was published last week, labelled 2023 as another year of sustained and significant growth in cases. Between 2018 and 2023, £120bn in damages were sought, the report said.