With its ruling of 28 August 2024, Düsseldorf Higher Regional Court overturned a decision by the Federal Cartel Office (Bundeskartellamt) of 31 May 2022 in which the latter had found that a non-compete covenant agreed by STIHL with certain specialist dealers in Germany was in breach of antitrust law. This non-compete covenant had been known to the Bundeskartellamt for many years and had not previously been challenged.
STIHL had voluntarily waived the non-compete covenant during the proceedings. In its decision, the Bundeskartellamt subsequently found that the non-compete covenant had violated antitrust law. STIHL filed an appeal against this decision with Düsseldorf Higher Regional Court.
The Court has now ruled that the Bundeskartellamt’s decision was formally and substantively unlawful when it was issued. It overturned the decision in its entirety on substantive grounds. In particular, the Court found that neither a restriction of competition by object nor a restriction of competition by effect could be established on the basis of the Bundeskartellamt’s investigations. Leave to file an appeal on points of law was not granted.
Previously, Düsseldorf Higher Regional Court had already overturned the Bundeskartellamt’s unlawful decision to summon a competitor after the end of the proceedings.
The following Gleiss Lutz team represented STIHL before the Bundeskartellamt and Düsseldorf Higher Regional Court: Dr. Ulrich Denzel (partner), Dr. Patrick Grüner (counsel), Dr. Laura Roßmann (all Competition/Antitrust, all Stuttgart).
Gleiss Lutz regularly advises STIHL on antitrust issues, including on the acquisition of garden tool manufacturer Mogatec in 2023, when it also obtained the necessary merger control approvals.
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