A tribunal in England has ruled that a US-style class action lawsuit can go ahead against five car carrier operators that broke European Union competition laws. The lawsuit seeks compensation for millions of UK motorists, who claim they were overcharged for vehicle deliveries because of price fixing. In 2018, the European Commission imposed a €395m fine on vehicle carriers MOL, K Line, NYK Line, Compania Sud Americana de Vapores (CSAV), Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics and its sister company, Eukor. The EC found the carriers had fixed prices, allocated business, coordinated capacity reductions, and exchanged commercially sensitive information — breaking EU competition law. Now the UK’s Competition Appeal Tribunal has ruled that the class action can proceed against the carriers, following a hearing in November last year.

The class action lawsuit is one of the first of its kind to be filed in the UK and is estimated to be worth around £150m ($204m) in damages for car buyers. Mark McLaren, currently on the consumer panel of the UK’s Legal Services Board, is bringing the group action on behalf of consumers and businesses under the Consumer Rights Act 2015.

UK motorists and companies who bought or leased new cars affected by the price-fixing activity between October 2006 and September 2015 are automatically included in the class and would be eligible for compensation — if the claim is successful. Law firm Scott + Scott has been instructed by the claimant, as well as barristers from Brick Court Chambers in London. The collective action is being funded by Woodsford Litigation Funding, a third-party legal action financier. Steven Friel, chief executive of Woodsford, said the tribunal’s decision to allow the lawsuit to proceed was “a huge success for consumer redress in the UK. My only regret is that big corporate defendants, even after they have been found to have acted unlawfully, continue to use their significant legal and financial resource to fight technical arguments, with the goal of delaying compensation payments to consumers. The cartelists in this case should not have objected to certification of this class action. Now that the court has thrown out their futile objections, they should settle the case and allow UK consumers to receive the compensation they are owed.”

Car carrier owners that engaged in the price-fixing activity are facing several claims worldwide by other parties, who say they were overcharged as a result. Wallenius Wilhelmsen is facing a UK trial for claims brought by German car maker Daimler. The manufacturer has already settled claims against NYK Line, CSAV and K Line. Volvo and Jaguar Land Rover have been given approval to pursue class-action lawsuit in the UK against MOL, K Line, NYK Line, CSAV, Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics and Eukor.

German car maker BMW is pursuing damages claims in South Africa against car carrier owners including MOL, Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics and K Line, which it claims engaged in fixing prices.

In January, India imposed fines on NYK Line, K Line, Mitsui OSK Lines and Nissan Motor Car Carrier Co for colluding on car carrier rates.