The UK Competition Appeal Tribunal rules on which part of the EU Commission’s settlement decision is binding on a defendant and that it is an abuse of process for defendants to deny in follow-on damages claims the findings that are contained in settlements (Trucks Cartel)

In an important judgment for follow- on damages claims, the Competition Appeal Tribunal has ruled that a number of findings made by the European Commission in its Trucks ‘settlement’ Decision are binding on the defendants and the Tribunal; and that, subject to limited exceptions, it is an abuse of process for defendants to deny in follow-on damages claims findings that are contained in ‘settlement’ Decisions with the European Commission. On 4 March 2020, the UK’s Competition Appeal Tribunal (“CAT”) handed down a much-awaited judgment in the Trucks litigation. [1] The judgment addresses two issues: first, which parts of the European Commission’s Trucks ‘settlement’ decision (“Decision”) [2] are binding on the defendants and the CAT, such that they cannot be contested in follow-on damages