The EU Court of Justice holds that a victim of anticompetitive conduct is entitled to seek damages from the subsidiary of an infringing parent company (Sumal / Mercedes Benz Trucks España)

In its judgment of 6 October 2021, following a reference by the Provincial Court of Barcelona, the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) held that a victim of anti-competitive conduct is entitled to seek damages from the subsidiary (not referred to in the infringement decision) of an infringing parent company, provided both companies form part of the same economic entity and there is a link between the economic activity of the subsidiary and the subject matter of the infringement. Thus the CJEU expressly finds that the public enforcement case law on the concept of an undertaking also applies in private enforcement regardless of the ‘corporate veil’. However it also adds a requirement for the claimant to demonstrate the existence of a link between the activity of the subsidiary and the