Since July 1, 2021, the cartel damages trial in the log cartel has been heard at the Stuttgart Regional Court. In one of the largest lawsuits of its kind to date, dozens of sawmills are suing not only the state of Baden-Württemberg but also other federal states. In the lawsuit against the federal state of Hesse, Düsseldorf Competition Economics has taken over the calculation of the amount of damages.
The case was preceded by decades of practice whereby state authorities marketed logs and timber not only from state forests, but also from the forests of private forest owners. Sawmills were thus able to obtain their wood for further processing from only one source. In 2015, the Federal Cartel Office subsequently issued a cease-and-desist order against the state of Baden-Württemberg.