Düsseldorf Court of Appeals Upholds Dismissal of CDC Damage Claims in Cartel Follow-on Action

Following a 2013 landmark decision by the Düsseldorf District Court, the Düsseldorf Court of Appeals on February 18, 2015 confirmed the dismissal of cartel follow-on damage claims brought by the Belgian special purpose vehicle CDC. CDC had sought to bring a collection of damage claims against various German cement producers.

In particular, the Court held that the assignments of damage claims by various cement purchasers to CDC were invalid due to CDC’s insufficient funding, which would not have allowed for reimbursement of court and defense costs in case of defeat. The Court hereby raised the bar for vehicles like CDC which consider bringing “collective” follow-on actions before German courts. Moreover, the Court took the opportunity to rule on issues regarding the limitation of cartel damage claims which have so far been unresolved in German case law.