EU court rejects intervention of damages claimants in appeal before the European courts by taking a narrow and rather formalistic view of legal interest in the appeals. While it is true that damages actions are legally possible as stand-alone actions, the reality in Europe is that third parties’ damages actions stand and fall with the decision that finds an infringement.

The General Court of the European Union (GC) has rejected a request by Schenker—the transportation and logistics arm of the Deutsche Bahn Group—to intervene in a series of appeals by airlines against a European Commission decision in the air cargo cartel case (cases T-28/11, T-38/11, T-40/11, T-46/11, T-62/11, and T-63/11).