Merilampi successfully represented Koivunen Oy before the District Court of Helsinki in a damages case related to the Finnish spare car parts cartel case. The plaintiff in the case, spare car parts wholesale dealer Atoy Oy, claimed for damages for lost business caused by the cartel from Koivunen and four other spare car parts wholesale dealers. The District Court found no causal connection between the alleged damages and the competition infringement and dismissed the case. Atoy has appealed the case to the Court of Appeals, and the main hearing will begin at the end of November 2015.
The claim for damages was based on a 2012 decision of the Supreme Administrative Court, in which the Court found 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 one that had applied for leniency. Merilampi also represented Koivunen Oy in the cartel trial.