The Court of Appeal has given RHA the green light to pursue damages for upcoming and used truck purchasers in a truck cartel case. The Court of Appeal dismissed appeals by UKTC, DAF and MAN on 25 July, 2023.
As a result of an irreconcilable conflict within the group of claimants (between new and used vehicle purchasers), the appellants attempted to overturn the Competition Appeal Tribunal’s judgment awarding the RHA a CPO (Collective Proceedings order). RHA should not be allowed to bring the claim since there was an irreconcilable conflict within the group of claimants.
Court of Appeal dismissed appeals on 9, 10, and 11 May, 2023. Consequently, RHA can continue collective claims on behalf of used and branded truck purchasers. As for the conflict between newly acquired and used truck purchasers, the Court of Appeal disagreed with the Tribunal. However, the Court of Appeal decided that the conflict must be resolved now, before the CPO is actually issued, as opposed to waiting until later in the proceedings. Furthermore, the Court of Appeal said the RHA needs to create a subgroup within the RHA to represent those who purchased used trucks to resolve the conflict. There must be a separate legal team and economist for the subgroup than for the RHA to deal with the overall claim. According to the Court of Appeal, a separate funder could be needed to fund the claim for the used truck purchasers.
The RHA’s Managing Director Richard Smith welcomed the decision, saying, “We are pleased that the Court of Appeal dismissed the appeals and look forward to taking the case forward to the Competition Appeal Tribunal.”. All operators participating in the claim can receive compensation.”
According to Steven Meyerhoff, Director at Backhouse Jones representing the RHA, “the Court of Appeal rejected the various appeal points raised by the OEMs and UKTC.”. Court of Appeal ordered the RHA to implement the safeguards it offered to the Competition Appeal Tribunal on the conflict issue. The RHA’s CPO application was being heard at that time. To progress the case to the Tribunal as soon as reasonably possible, the legal team will now work towards putting safeguards in place.”
