Press Reviews
Press about our case against the European truck cartel (unilegion Truck Claims Stichting)
Truck cartel: Amsterdam judges clear the way for billion-euro lawsuits
Thousands of trucking companies, state-owned enterprises, and municipalities can hope for compensation from truck manufacturers DAF, Daimler, Iveco, MAN, Scania, and Volvo/Renault following a ruling published on Monday. […] A court in Amsterdam rejected the defendants' claim that their price and model agreements between 1997 and 2011 did not cause any damage to customers. […]
Almost half of all cases are currently being heard before the Amsterdam court, with damages of between one and two billion euros at stake. One of the main drivers is the Unilegion Truck Claims foundation, which represents 500 companies with more than 15,000 trucks.
Handelsblatt, 17 May 2021
A series of trials for the truck manufacturers' “cartel”
After a record fine of €3.8 billion imposed by the European Commission for price fixing, six manufacturers are being sued by their customers in class action lawsuits. […]
The action may also be taken through a foundation set up specifically for this purpose. This is the case with Unilegion Trucks Claim in the Netherlands. It offers to represent small businesses without them having to advance any funds. They take no risk. The costs will be deducted from the compensation, explains Katharine Froehlich, a German lawyer working on the case.
Nearly 500 European companies, including more than 100 French companies, have already agreed to join the class action lawsuit. We hope to bring together a thousand, Katharine Froehlich continues.
Ouest France, 18 May 2021
Press about our case against the German pesticides cartel
Farmers sue pesticides distributors for millions
A group of pesticides wholesalers is facing claims for damages from 3,200 farmers. A lawsuit has been filed at the Dortmund Regional Court, seeking more than €200 million, according to Unilegion, which is handling the case in a kind of class action lawsuit [...].
Farmers from all over Germany have joined the lawsuit, some with large farms, others with only small ones. The claims for damages per farm range from a few thousand euros to more than one million euros. According to the information provided, the farmers have a total cultivated area of approximately 850,000 hectares, which is more than five percent of the total cultivated area in Germany. […]
The farmers, who were under considerable economic pressure, paid too much for the products, says Katharina Fröhlich from Unilegion's management team. “It's time they got their money back.” Her company has received and evaluated a total of 600,000 invoices for plant protection products from the farmers.
Süddeutsche Zeitung, 27 February 2025
Germany's agricultural sector is increasing pressure on a number of wholesalers due to years of illegal price fixing for pesticides. The legal services provider Unilegion is seeking more than 200 million euros in damages for farmers from all over Germany in a lawsuit before the Dortmund Regional Court. According to Unilegion, the alliance comprises 3,200 agricultural businesses with around 850,000 hectares of land and a pesticide purchasing volume of more than €1 billion. Unilegion, a debt collection service specializing in competition violations, estimates the damage to affected farmers at around 10 to 20 percent of the purchase price paid, plus interest. The dispute is one of the largest antitrust damages claims currently before a German court.
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 28 February 2025 (Print edition)
Farmers want 200 million euros
Press about our case against the Italian cardboard cartel
Corrugated cardboard, class action lawsuit against cartel: “Over €2 billion in refunds possible”
Italian companies damaged by the so-called 'corrugated cardboard cartel' may be able to obtain reimbursement from the cartel members of up to 20% or more of the amount paid and recover the damages suffered. In 2019, 34 companies were sanctioned by the Antitrust Authority, and recent judgments have confirmed the sanctions. The compensation claim will be brought before the Court of Milan. According to Unilegion, which has brought the class action against the cartel in Italy, the Italian food supply chain [...] is among the hardest hit. Over 150 Italian companies have joined Unilegion's project, representing an annual turnover of over €6 billion.
Corriere della Sera, 5 July 2024
Corrugated cardboard: Italian companies could obtain over €2 billion in refunds
Five years have passed since the antitrust authority’s ruling that condemned 34 manufacturers of corrugated cardboard sheets and boxes. Italian companies that purchased this type of material at a premium now have the possibility of obtaining a refund from the cartel members of up to 20% or more of the amount paid [...]
Unilegion is currently gathering support from numerous companies, thanks in part to the support of trade associations and consortia. [...
Joining a class action is in fact the safest and most effective way to achieve the desired results. Those who have joined the class action […] will not have to pay any money up front: unilegion will bear all the costs associated with the litigation, including legal fees, competition economists' fees, court costs, and any other necessary expenses.
Il Sole 24 Ore, 4 July 2024