On October 20, 2021, the Court of Naples upheld a claim for damages filed by an Italian logistics company (the “Applicant”), on the basis of a European Commission decision of July 2016,[1] against truck manufacturer Iveco S.p.A. (“Iveco”), in connection with the plaintiff’s purchase of numerous trucks from the defendant. According to the European Commission decision, Iveco and four other truck manufacturers colluded for over 13 years on truck pricing and on the costs of compliance with emission rules (the “EC Decision”).[2]
This is the second known follow-on case stemming from the EC Decision in which an Italian court has awarded damages quantified solely on an equitable basis (i.e., 15% of the trucks’ net purchase prices). In July 2021, the Court of Naples already took the same approach, and followed the same analytical framework, in a similar case.[3]
However, the previous judgment accepted a claim for damages in connection with the purchase of one truck only, for which the defendant was eventually ordered to pay €11,550, whereas the new ruling of the Court involved the purchase of more than 30 trucks and resulted in an order on the defendant to pay damages in a much higher amount (approximately €380,000).
[1] Court of Naples, Judgment of October 20, 2021, No. 8570.
[2] European Commission, Decision of July 19, 2016, Case AT.39824 – Trucks.
[3] Court of Naples, Judgment of July 19, 2021, No. 6319 (as discussed in the August 2021 issue of this Newsletter, https://www.clearygottlieb.com/-/media/files/ italian-comp-reports/italian-competition-law-newsletter–august-2021-pdf).