Merilampi successfully represented Koivunen Oy before the Helsinki Court of Appeal in a damages case related to the Finnish spare car parts cartel case. The District Court held in its 31 March 2014 decision that there was no causal connection between the alleged damages and the competition infringement.

The plaintiff in the case, spare car parts wholesale dealer Atoy Oy, appealed the District Court’s decision to the Court of Appeal and claimed damages for alleged lost business caused by the cartel from Koivunen and four other spare car parts wholesale dealers. The Court of Appeal also held that there was no causal connection between the alleged damages and the competition infringement and dismissed the case in its 31 March 2016 decision.

The court decision is under leave to appeal to the Supreme Court until 30 May 2016.

The claim for damages was based on a 2012 decision of the Supreme Administrative Court, in which the Court held that five spare car parts wholesale dealers had participated in a concerted practice where they, after a joint meeting, had reduced the discounts available to Osaset spare car parts retailers.

The Supreme Administrative Court imposed penalty payments on all participants, apart from the participant that had applied for leniency. Merilampi also represented Koivunen Oy in the cartel trial.