Mark McLaren Class Representative Limited v. MOL (Europe Africa) Ltd and Others

Competition Appeal Tribunal (Case Documents)

In January 2026, Scott+Scott UK LLP achieved the final settlement approval, the last in a series of settlements totaling £92.75 million in a long-running case brought on behalf of Class Representative Mark McLaren against the Car Carrier Cartel comprised of the global shipping giants “K” Line, WWL/EUKOR, CSAV, MOL and NYK.

The case came to a successful conclusion following a multipart settlement approval process by the Competition Appeal Tribunal with £1.5 million secured from CSAV in December 2023, £37.25 recovered from WWL/EUKOR and “K” Line in January 2025 (marking the first, third and fourth settlements ever approved by the Tribunal under the UK collective proceedings regime)and £54 million recovered from the last two defendants, MOL and NYK, settling in December 2025, following a 9-week trial.

The Path to Success for the Class

In 2020, Mark McLaren filed ‘follow on’ collective proceedings – the claim is based on a 2018 European Commission Decision. As a result of the Car Carrier Cartel’s unlawful actions, McLaren argued that there was an overcharge on the delivery fees for new vehicles between 18 October 2006 and 6 September 2015, with the overcharge being paid by the first registered owner of the vehicle.

The matter constitutes one of the formative cases in the emerging collective action regime: it was the first collective proceedings certified on behalf of businesses (and consumers) (upheld by the Court of Appeal); established the law in relation to defendants’ ability to communicate with class members (Court of Appeal); and was the first judgment discussing the need for a so-called “blueprint to trial”. It also culminated in the first ever settlement approved by the Tribunal under the UK collective regime, and accounts for four of the six approved collective settlements to date.

Scott+Scott successfully pursued this case to the first CAT trial in a cartel damages collective action while also addressing a number of important issues such as pass-on to indirect purchasers, proving harm on a class-wide basis, and the evidential burden on class representatives who do not hold any data. Following the landmark recovery for the class, distribution is expected in late 2026 and is one of the first distributions in opt-out proceedings in the UK.