Judgment of the General Court of 27 October 2010 - Alliance One International and Others v Commission
(Competition - Agreements, decisions and concerted practices - Spanish market for the purchase and first processing of raw tobacco - Decision finding an infringement of Article 81 EC - Price-fixing and market-sharing - Obligation to state the reasons on which the decision is based - Attributability of the unlawful conduct - Equal treatment)
Language of the case: English
Parties
Applicants: Alliance One International, Inc., formerly Standard Commercial Corp. (Danville, Virginia, United States); Standard Commercial Tobacco Co., Inc. (Wilson, North Carolina, United States) and Trans-Continental Leaf Tobacco Corp. Ltd, (Vaduz, Liechtenstein), (represented initially by M. Odriozola Alén, M. Marañon Hermoso and A. Emch, and subsequently by M. Odriozola Alén, M. Barrantes Díaz and A. João Vide, lawyers)
Defendant: European Commission (represented by: F. Castillo de la Torre and É. Gippini Fournier, Agents)
Re:
Application for the annulment of Commission Decision C (2004) 4030 final of 20 October 2004 relating to a proceeding under Article 81(1) [EC] (Case COMP/C.38.238/B.2 − Raw tobacco - Spain)
Operative part of the judgment
The Court:
Annuls Commission Decision C (2004) 4030 final of 20 October 2004 relating to a proceeding under Article 81(1) [EC] (Case COMP/C.38.238/B.2 − Raw tobacco - Spain) in so far as it relates to Trans-Continental Leaf Tobacco Corp. Ltd.;
Dismisses the action as to the remainder;
Orders Alliance One International, Inc., Standard Commercial Tobacco Co., Inc. and Trans-Continental Leaf Tobacco to bear two-thirds of their own costs and to pay two-thirds of the costs incurred by the European Commission, and the European Commission to bear one-third of its own costs and to pay one-third of those incurred by the applicants.
____________1 - OJ C 82, 2.4.2005.