ECJ rules on sawmills’ collective action in cartel case in Germany

On January 28, 2025, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled in Case C-253/23, ASG 2 Ausgleichsgesellschaft für die Sägeindustrie Nordrhein-Westfalen GmbH v. Land Nordrhein-Westfalen, clarifying the application of collective actions in EU competition law. The case involved a group of sawmills in Germany, Belgium, and Luxembourg, which assigned their rights to claim damages from alleged anti-competitive behavior in the timber market to the ASG 2 legal entity. The case specifically concerned a cartel that was alleged to have fixed prices for unwrought coniferous timber, violating Article 101(1) of the Treaty on ...