The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has been advised that Sir James Dyson's £150m damages claim against Brussels' vacuum cleaner regulations should be heard. A senior adviser to the EU's

top court has given the Brexit-supporting inventor renewed hope in his decade-long legal battle with the European Commission over green rules that he argues have negatively impacted the sales of Dyson products.

Previously, a lower EU court had dismissed the damages claim against the European Commission regarding the regulations governing energy efficiency labels (A-G). However, Advocate General Tamara Ćapeta stated that the Commission's error was "sufficiently serious" to warrant consideration of the lawsuit. She recommended that the ECJ overturn the lower court's decision and refer the case back to it to examine other potential liabilities for damages.

A spokesperson for Dyson stated, "It has taken ten years to reach this point in relation to a regulation which misled consumers in Britain and the EU and damaged Dyson. We welcome the advocate general's opinion in support of Dyson's appeal and await the judgment of the court in due course."

While the advice from the Advocate General is not binding on EU judges, it is typically followed.

Sir James successfully challenged the Energy Labelling Directive rules that he believed disadvantaged his bagless cleaners in comparison to bagged cleaners, initiating the legal battle in 2013. The 76-year-old entrepreneur achieved success after inventing the dual cyclone bagless vacuum cleaner.

Dyson's lawyers argued that an EU-endorsed test for measuring the energy efficiency of vacuum cleaners, which involved an empty bag, did not reflect real-world conditions. In reality, the bag would accumulate dust over time, impacting energy efficiency. Dyson claimed that the flawed test misled consumers and put bagless cleaners at a disadvantage due to inflated efficiency ratings of their bagged counterparts.

After five years, Dyson won its legal challenge. In 2017, the ECJ ruled that the commission was violating its own efficiency law by allowing the empty bag test. The regulation was annulled in 2018. Subsequently, Dyson pursued a damages claim of €176m (£150m) based on lost sales and increased costs related to additional research and development necessitated by the rule.

In 2021, the lower EU court dismissed the damages claim, deeming it insufficiently serious for consideration. Dyson appealed.

The Advocate General's opinion precedes the ECJ's deliberation on the appeal itself.

Energy efficiency rules for vacuum cleaners became a contentious topic for Eurosceptics in the UK and elsewhere in Europe, who claimed that the regulations would result in less powerful cleaners.

The UK was obliged to adhere to EU rules, including the vacuum cleaner regulations, until 11pm on December 31, 2020, when it completed the Brexit transition period and left the EU. However, those rules were transposed into British law before the deadline.

The European Commission stated, "We will study the opinion very carefully, but let us remind you that this is only one step in the process. The final decision on the case rests with the Court, so we will await the judgment." Photo by Westliche, Wikimedia commons.