On 27 October 2022, the European Court of Justice (“ECJ”) handed down a ruling on the permissibility of private damages claims for excessive railway infrastructure fees under Article 102 TFEU. The ECJ found that a national court is precluded from awarding damages for excessive fees until the national sector regulator has adopted a decision on the fees and, even though the court is not required to follow the regulator’s decision, it must take the decision into consideration when determining whether the fees infringed EU competition law (Case C-721/20, DB Station). Background The dispute in the main proceedings involved DB Station, which operates some 5,400 railways stations in Germany, and a rail transport company using DB Station’s infrastructure. In 2005, DB Station issued a new pricing
The EU Court of Justice rules that national courts may hear claims under Article 102 TFEU for excessive railway infrastructure fees only after the sector regulator has ruled on the fees’ lawfulness (DB Station)
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