Judgment of the Court (Third Chamber) of 3 May 2012 —
Legris Industries v Commission

(Case C‑289/11 P)

Appeal — Competition — Cartels — Copper fittings and copper alloy fittings sector — Commission decision finding an infringement of Article 81 EC — Fines — Parent companies and subsidiaries — Imputability of the unlawful conduct

1.                     Appeals — Grounds — Plea submitted for the first time in the context of the appeal — Inadmissibility — Entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon — New fact warranting the late introduction of a head of claim based on breach of the right to a fair hearing — Excluded (Art. 6(2) TEU; Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, Art. 47; Statute of the Court of Justice, Art. 58; Rules of Procedure of the Court of Justice, Arts 42(2) and 113(2)) (see paras 33, 35, 36)

2.                     Competition — Rules of the Union — Infringements — Attribution — Parent company and subsidiaries — Unilateral conduct — Criteria for assessment — Presumption that a parent company exerts a decisive influence over its wholly-owned subsidiaries — Rebuttable — Burden of proof (Art. 101 TFEU; Council Regulation No 1/2003, Art. 23(2)) (see paras 45‑47)

3.                     Appeals — Grounds — Mistaken assessment of the facts — Inadmissibility — Review by the Court of the findings of fact — Possible only where the clear sense of the evidence has been distorted (Art. 256 TFEU; Statute of the Court of Justice, Art. 58, first para.) (see paras 51, 53)

Re:

Appeal brought against the judgment of the General Court (Eighth Chamber) of 24 March 2011 in Case T‑376/06 Legris Industries v Commission , by which that court dismissed the action for partial annulment of Commission Decision C(2006) 4180 final of 20 September 2006 relating to a proceeding under Article 81 [EC] and Article 53 of the EEA Agreement (Case COMP/F‑1/38.121 — Fittings) — Copper Fittings and Copper Alloy Fittings Sector — Infringement of the right of access to an independent and impartial tribunal — Imputability of the unlawful conduct — Breach of the principles of equal treatment, personal liability and the principle that the penalty must be specific to the offender — Distortion of evidence.

Operative part

The Court:

1. Dismisses the appeal;

2. Orders Legris Industries SA to pay the costs.