2019:519 Quanta Storage, Inc. v European Commission

2019:519 Quanta Storage, Inc. v European Commission - drive 3410753 1920
Court General Court
Date of ruling 12 July 2019
Case name (short version) Quanta Storage, Inc. v European Commission
Case Citation T-772/15

ECLI:EU:T:2019:519

Key words Competition — Agreements, decisions and concerted practices — Market for optical disk drives — Decision finding an infringement of Article 101 TFEU and Article 53 of the EEA Agreement — Collusive agreements relating to bidding events concerning optical disk drives for notebook and desktop computers — Rights of the defence — Obligation to state reasons — Principle of good administration — Fines — Single and continuous infringement — 2006 Guidelines on the method of setting fines
Basic context In its judgment in Quanta Storage v Commission (T-772/15), delivered on 12 July 2019, the Tribunal, on the one hand, rejected the application of Quanta Storage, Inc. (‘the applicant’) seeking, principally, partial annulment of Commission Decision C(2015) 7135 final of 21 October 2015{1} and, in the alternative, reduction of the amount of the fine imposed on it by that decision on account of an infringement of the rules of competition in the sector of the production and supply of optical disc players (‘ODDs’). The Tribunal also rejected the Commission’s application for an increase in the amount of the fine which it had imposed on the applicant.
Points arising – admissibility  –
Points arising – substance Competition – Fines – Amount – Determination – Commission’s discretion – Judicial review – Full jurisdiction of the Union judicature – Scope – Amount of the fine resulting from the consideration of a materially inaccurate factual element – Increase in the fine – Burden of proof

Following an administrative investigation initiated on denunciation, the Commission concluded that thirteen companies had participated in a cartel on the ODD market. Under the contested decision, the Commission established that, at least from 23 June 2004 to 25 November 2008, the participants in that prohibited cartel had coordinated their conduct in relation to the tendering procedures organised by the computer manufacturers Dell and Hewlett Packard.

According to the Commission, the companies involved had sought, through a network of parallel bilateral contacts, to ensure that the prices of ODD products remained at higher levels than they would have been in the absence of those bilateral contacts. Accordingly, the Commission imposed a fine of EUR 7 146 000 on the applicant for infringement of Article 101 TFEU and Article 53 of the EEA Agreement.

In support of its action, the applicant relied on five pleas in law, alleging, inter alia, infringements of the rights of the defence, the obligation to state reasons and the right to sound administration, a lack of evidence as to its participation in a single and continuous infringement, the Commission’s lack of competence to apply Article 101 TFEU and Article 53 of the EEA Agreement and errors of fact and law in the calculation of the amount of the fine. Those pleas in law were, however, all rejected by the Tribunal.

For its part, the Commission requested the Tribunal in its defence, in addition to dismissing the action, to exercise its unlimited jurisdiction to increase the amount of the fine imposed on the applicant by EUR 40 000, on the ground that the original calculation of the fine had been based on certain estimates provided by the applicant which had been contradicted by figures provided by Dell on the same day as the adoption of the contested decision.

In that regard, the Tribunal pointed out first of all that, although the exercise of its unlimited jurisdiction is most often requested by the applicants in the sense of a reduction in the amount of the fine, there is nothing to prevent the Commission from also submitting to the Court of Justice of the European Union the question of the amount of the fine and making an application for an increase in that amount. Since the amount of the fine cannot be maintained where it results from the taking into consideration of a materially inaccurate factual element, the Tribunal then examined the estimates provided by the appellant and challenged by the Commission and compared them with the estimates provided by Dell and relied on by the Commission.

However, the Tribunal considered that, although the latter appeared to be better substantiated, they were not sufficiently reliable for it to be established with certainty that the appellant’s estimates were materially inaccurate. The Tribunal concluded that the benefit of the doubt must be given to the applicant and rejected the Commission’s request.

{1 Commission Decision C(2015) 7135 final of 21 October 2015 relating to a proceeding pursuant to Article 101 TFEU and Article 53 of the EEA Agreement (Case AT.39639 – Optical disc drives).}

Intervention  –
Interim measures  –
Order
  1. Dismisses the action;
  2. Dismisses the European Commission’s request that the amount of the fine of Quanta Storage, Inc. be increased;
  3. Orders Quanta Storage to bear its own costs and to pay four fifths of the costs incurred by the Commission.
Fine changed  –
Case duration 3 years 7 months
Judge-rapporteur Ulloa Rubio
Notes on academic writings Idot, Laurence: Cartels (2), Europe 2019 Mois Comm. nº 10 p.33 (FR)

Tags

Über

Picture Kiran Desai

Kiran Desai

Digest Editor

Partner, EU Competition Law Leader, EY Law, Brussels

>> Kiran’s CoRe Blog Case Digests >>

Zusammenhängende Posts

31. Aug 2023
von Parsa Tonkaboni
The ECJ Judgment in CK Telecoms – Setting the Record Straight? - 0122 Blog post

The ECJ Judgment in CK Telecoms – Setting the Record Straight?

Introduction On 13 July 2023, the European Court of Justice (‘ECJ’) delivered its highly anticipated ruling in CK Telecoms UK Investments v European Commission (‘CK Telecoms’). The Grand Chamber judgment is significant at the most fundamental level. It clarifies some of the core legal concepts and principles at the very heart of EU merger control. The five crucial issues the […]
18. Jan 2023
Features von Daniel Mandrescu
competition law, abuse of dominance, refusal to supply, Lithuanian railways, bronner, essential facility, art. 102 TFEU

Case C-42/21P Lithuanian Railways – another clarification on the Bronner case law and the non-exhaustive character of art. 102 TFEU

The recent case of Lithuanian Railways provides yet another clarification on the scope of application of the Bronner case law. The Judgement of the CJEU reconfirms exceptional character of the Bronner case law and the type of situations it is intended to apply to. By doing so the CJEU potentially helps prevent future disputes of a similar  nature in the […]
15. Nov 2022
Features von Daniel Mandrescu
abuse of dominance, competition law, art. 102 TFEU, railways, regulation, DMA, excessive pricing, unfair pricing, private enforcement, stand alone claims

Case C-721/20 – DB Station & Service – Can secondary legislation limit the private enforcement of art. 102 TFEU?

Last month the CJEU delivered an interesting ruling on the scope of application of art. 102 TFEU when dealing with excessive or unfair prices in the railway sector. A first reading of the final conclusion of the CJEU would give the impression that the scope of application of art. 102 TFEU is being unduly restricted with this case by making […]
05. Nov 2020
Case Digests von Kiran Desai
2019:1134 Furukawa Electric v Commission - lines 2147464 1920

2019:1134 Furukawa Electric v Commission

Court Court of Justice Date of ruling 19 December 2019 Case name (short version) Furukawa Electric v Commission Case Citation C- 589/18 P ECLI:EU:C:2019:1134 Key words Appeal — Competition — Agreements, decisions and concerted practices — European market for underground and submarine power cables — Market allocation in connection with projects — Fines — 2006 Guidelines on the method of […]
05. Nov 2020
Case Digests von Kiran Desai
2019:1025 LS Cable & System v Commission - lines 2147464 1920

2019:1025 LS Cable & System v Commission

Court Court of Justice Date of ruling 28 November 2019 Case name (short version) LS Cable & System v Commission Case Citation Case C-596/18 P ECLI:EU:C:2019:1025 Key words Appeal — Competition — Agreements, decisions and concerted practices — European market for underground and submarine power cables — Market allocation in connection with projects — Fines — Burden of proof — […]
05. Nov 2020
Case Digests von Kiran Desai
2019:966 Silec Cable and General Cable v Commission - lines 2147464 1920

2019:966 Silec Cable and General Cable v Commission

Court Court of Justice Date of ruling 14 November 2019 Case name (short version) Silec Cable and General Cable v Commission Case Citation C-599/18 P ECLI:EU:C:2019:966 Key words Appeal — Competition — Agreements, decisions and concerted practices — European market for underground and submarine power cables — Market allocation in connection with projects — Proof of the infringement — Presumption […]
05. Nov 2020
Case Digests von Kiran Desai
2019:675 HSBC Holdings plc and Others v European Commission - business 962358 1920

2019:675 HSBC Holdings plc and Others v European Commission

Court General Court Date of ruling 24 September 2019 Case name (short version) HSBC Holdings plc and Others v European Commission Case Citation T-105/17 ECLI:EU:T:2019:675 Key words Competition — Agreements, decisions and concerted practices — Euro Interest Rate Derivatives sector — Decision establishing an infringement of Article 101 TFEU and Article 53 of the EEA Agreement — Manipulation of the […]
05. Nov 2020
Case Digests von Kiran Desai
2019:633 FVE Holýšov I s. r. o. and Others v European Commission - windrader 2991696 1920

2019:633 FVE Holýšov I s. r. o. and Others v European Commission

Court General Court Date of ruling 20 September 2019 Case name (short version) FVE Holýšov I s. r. o. and Others v European Commission Case Citation T-217/17 ECLI:EU:T:2019:633 Key words State aid — Market for electricity generated from renewable sources — Measures setting a minimum purchase price for electricity generated from renewable energy sources or granting a bonus to producers […]
05. Nov 2020
Case Digests von Kiran Desai
2019:532 Région Île-de-France v European Commission - bus 690508 1920

2019:532 Région Île-de-France v European Commission

Court General Court Date of ruling 12 July 2019 Case name (short version) Région Île-de-France v European Commission Case Citation T-292/17 ECLI:EU:T:2019:532 Key words State aid — Aid scheme implemented by France between 1994 and 2008 — Investment subsidies awarded by the Île-de-France Region — Decision declaring the aid scheme compatible with the internal market — Advantage — Selective nature […]
05. Nov 2020
Case Digests von Kiran Desai
2019:522 Toshiba Samsung Storage Technology Corp. and Toshiba Samsung Storage Technology Korea Corp. v European Commission - drive 3410753 1920

2019:522 Toshiba Samsung Storage Technology Corp. and Toshiba Samsung Storage Technology Korea Corp. v European Commission

Court General Court Date of ruling 12 July 2019 Case name (short version) Toshiba Samsung Storage Technology Corp. and Toshiba Samsung Storage Technology Korea Corp. v European Commission Case Citation T-8/16 ECLI:EU:T:2019:522 Key words Competition — Agreements, decisions and concerted practices — Market for optical disk drives — Decision finding an infringement of Article 101 TFEU and Article 53 of […]

Melden Sie sich für unseren Newsletter an, um regelmäßig über unsere kommenden Konferenzen, Lexxion Trainings, Vor-Ort-Workshops und die neuesten Veröffentlichungen von Lexxion informiert zu werden.

Verpassen Sie keine Neuigkeiten und abonnieren Sie unseren kostenlosen Newsletter. Jetzt anmelden!