Judgment of the General Court of 16 September 2013 – Masco and Others v Commission
(Case T-378/10) 1
(Competition – Agreements, decisions and concerted practices – Bathroom fittings and fixtures markets of Belgium, Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands and Austria – Decision finding an infringement of Article 101 TFEU and Article 53 of the EEA Agreement – Coordination of price increases and exchange of sensitive business information – Single infringement)
Language of the case: English
Parties
Applicants: Masco Corp. (Michigan, United States of America); Hansgrohe AG (Schiltach, Germany); Hansgrohe Deutschland Vertriebs GmbH (Schiltach); Hansgrohe Handelsgesellschaft mbH (Wiener Neudorf, Austria); Hansgrohe SA/NV (Brussels, Belgium); Hansgrohe BV (Westknollendam, Netherlands); Hansgrohe SARL (Antony, France); Hansgrohe SRL (Villanova d’Asti, Italy); Hüppe GmbH (Bad Zwischenahn, Germany); Hüppe Ges.mbH (Laxenburg, Austria); Hüppe Belgium SA (Woluwé Saint-Étienne, Belgium); Hüppe BV (Alblasserdam, Netherlands) (represented by: D. Schroeder, S. Heinz, lawyers, and J. Temple Lang, Solicitor)
Defendant: European Commission (represented by: F. Castillo de la Torre and F. Ronkes Agerbeek, Agents, assisted by B. Kennelly, Barrister)
Re:
Application for annulment in part of Article 1 of Commission Decision C(2010) 4185 final of 23 June 2010 relating to a proceeding under Article 101 TFEU and Article 53 EEA (Case COMP/39092 – Bathroom Fittings and Fixtures), in so far as the Commission finds that the applicants participated in a single complex infringement in the bathroom fittings and fixtures sector.
Operative part of the judgment
The Court:
Dismisses the action;
Orders Masco Corp., Hansgrohe AG, Hansgrohe Deutschland Vertriebs GmbH, Hansgrohe Handelsgesellschaft mbH, Hansgrohe SA/NV, Hansgrohe BV, Hansgrohe SARL, Hansgrohe SRL, Hüppe GmbH, Hüppe Ges.mbH, Hüppe Belgium SA and Hüppe BV to bear their own costs and to pay those incurred by the European Commission.
________________________1 OJ C 301, 6.11.2010.