The England & Wales Court of Appeal dismisses an appeal relating to the evidential weight to be given to recitals in EU Commission infringement decisions issued under the settlement procedure (Trucks Cartel)

On 11 November 2020, the Court of Appeal emphatically dismissed an appeal brought by five truck manufacturers against a judgment of the Competition Appeal Tribunal ("CAT") handed down in March 2020 relating to the evidential weight to be given to recitals to a European Commission infringement decision issued under the Commission's settlement procedure (Regulation No 622/2008 and Notice OJ 2008 C167/1). The Court of Appeal upheld the CAT's ruling that it would be an abuse of process for the truck manufacturers, in subsequent follow-on damages proceedings, to deny or not admit facts that they are recorded as having accepted in the European Commission's infringement decision. WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW - KEY TAKEAWAYS The Court of Appeal's judgment is likely to have important implications for