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EU: EC antitrust fines overturned

By  |  January 20, 2015

Brussels Commercial Court overturned the decision regarding the first damages the European Commission (Ec) ever claimed. The EC fined five different elevator and escalator manufacturers in 2008.

The Brussels court has dismissed the claims entirely stating that the EC failed to prove that actual damage was suffered. Onno Brouwer, representing one of the manufacturers, says, “During the oral hearing, the EU could not answer the court’s question of, how many maintenance contracts it had concluded with the defendants. Similarly they also failed to confirm how many of the maintenance contracts, for which it was claiming damages, had been assessed by its external expert.

The court therefore ruled that the Commission failed to demonstrate the allegedly suffered damage.” Brouwer went on to say that the decision shows that Belgian Courts only allow antitrust damage claims with proper substantiation.

Full Content: Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer

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