Trenitalia Wins Case Against a ‘Brotherhood Cartel’ Member

Cleary Gottlieb advised Trenitalia S.p.A. in a case against a member of the “Brotherhood Cartel.”

By Judgment No. 19384/2016 on October 18, 2016, the Court of Rome fully dismissed Meis Elettromeccanica S.r.l.’s claims against Trenitalia S.p.A. and upheld Trenitalia’s counterclaims relating to the payment of a surety bond.

Meis, the main participant in the so-called “Brotherhood Cartel,” alleged that it incurred substantial damage following Trenitalia’s purportedly illegal decision in 2012 to terminate certain procurement agreements entered into with Meis and enforce the relating surety bonds.  Trenitalia’s decision was justified by Meis’ serious breaches of the Code of Ethics of the Ferrovie dello Stato Group (which represented an integral part of the procurement agreements).

In line with well-settled case law, the Court of Rome held that: (i) the Code of Ethics of the Ferrovie dello Stato Group is also pivotal to the contractual relationships between Trenitalia and its suppliers; and (ii) accordingly, Trenitalia is entitled to terminate the agreements and enforce the relating surety bonds should a breach of the Code of Ethics occur.