First favourable ruling for farmers in the Spanish Milk Cartel Case
Madrid, 22 October 2025 – In a landmark ruling on 16 October 2025, Madrid Commercial Court No. 14 recognised liability for damages arising from the milk cartel for the first time, based on the 2019 sanctioning decision of the National Commission for Markets and Competition (CNMC).
This important decision reinforces the legal framework that allows producers to claim compensation for damage suffered as a result of anti-competitive practices in the sector.
Eskariam, in collaboration with the international law firm Hausfeld and under the legal direction of Hitchings & González, is leading the claim on behalf of the livestock sector with more than 7,000 farmers from all over Spain, mainly located in Galicia, Castile and León, Asturias, Cantabria and Catalonia.
The ruling partially upholds the lawsuit filed by the farmers represented by Eskariam against Grupo Lactalis Iberia, S.A. and Industrias Lácteas de Granada, S.L.U. (Puleva), considering that there was evidence of anti-competitive behaviour that caused damage to the milk supply market, based on the CNMC's sanctioning ruling of 19 July 2019.
"The ruling represents a historic precedent and is a decisive step in the defence of the rights of Spanish livestock farmers. It confirms the soundness of our claims and validates the legal and economic work carried out over many years to demonstrate the damage suffered by thousands of milk producers throughout Spain", a legal spokesperson said.
The court found that the defendants exchanged sensitive information on prices, quotas and farmers, and that their conduct "reduced the prices paid to producers", causing direct economic damage to farmers.
Although the CNMC's ruling sanctioning the cartel is not yet final, the judge considers it a "highly authoritative instrument of conviction" and concludes that the infringement has been sufficiently proven.
The court also determined that the claims are not time-barred, in line with the recent doctrine of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) and the Spanish Supreme Court, which establish that the limitation period cannot begin to run until the CNMC's sanctioning decision becomes final. Therefore, the limitation period has not begun, allowing all affected livestock farmers to join the claim.
As for the quantification of the damage, the Court accepts the methodology of the economic report prepared by Compass Lexecon and sets compensation equivalent to 9.4% of the price actually received for raw milk in the years affected, considering that the defendants' reports do not offer a methodologically sound alternative.
In addition, the court accepts the calculation of compound interest up to the date of the claim and subsequent legal and procedural interest, following the criteria established by the Supreme Court in the Envelope Cartel cases, with the aim of ensuring full compensation for the damage.
