Clifford Chance has successfully defended Czech steel and rail manufacturer Moravia against claims for antitrust damages before Frankfurt Regional Court.
"The other companies accused in this case were Moravia Deutschland, Stahlberg Roensch, and Constantin Stahlberg, the former owner of Stahlberg Roensch Group," Clifford Chance informed. "The proceedings began in 2014. Due to pricing and quota arrangements for agreements on the supply of rail tracks, several companies belonging to Germany's national railway operator, Deutsche Bahn, filed claims totaling EUR 500 million plus interest. Over recent years, Deutsche Bahn had already reached settlements with various companies out of court in relation to the rail cartel, but claims totaling over EUR 200 million were still filed."
"The Frankfurt Regional Court then dismissed the action on August 3, 2022," the firm added. "The defendants argued that Deutsche Bahn was aware of the arrangements or must have been aware of them and tolerated them. The court followed this line of argument in the grounds for its ruling and dismissed the claims as having become statute-barred – without addressing the question of whether the Deutsche Bahn companies actually had any claims against Moravia."
The Clifford Chance team was led by New York-based Consultant Michael Kremer and Duesseldorf-based Partner Marc Besen and included Senior Associate Ulrich Pfeffer, Associate Burcin Artik, and Prague-based Counsel Jan Dobry.