Case T-379/06: Action brought on 14 December 2006 — Kaimer and Others v Commission
Date: 2006-12-14
Institutions: Court of First Instance
Subjects: European Commission, action for annulment (EU), copper, exchange of information, fine, plumbing equipment, price agreement, restriction on competition, trade information

24.2.2007

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 42/29

Action brought on 14 December 2006 — Kaimer and
Others v Commission

(Case T-379/06)

(2007/C 42/50)

Language of the case: German

Fourthly, it is submitted, in the alternative, that the calculation
of the fine reveals a misuse of powers in that it was based on an
excessive duration of the infringement and that the applicants
did not benefit from mitigating circumstances.

Finally, the applicants maintain that the Commission infringed
the principle of proportionality with the amount of the fine
imposed.

Parties

Applicants: Kaimer GmbH & Co. Holding (Essen, Germany),
SANHA GmbH & Co. KG (Essen, Germany) and Sanha Italia srl.
(Milan, Italy) (represented by: J. Brück, lawyer)

Defendant: Commission of the European Communities

Form of order sought

— Annul

the defendant's decision C(2006) 4180 final of
20 September 2006, as amended by the defendant's decision
of 29 September 2006, served on applicants 1 to 3 on
5 October 2006, relating to a proceeding under Article 81
of the EC Treaty and Article 53 of the EEA Agreement (Case
COMP/F-1/38.121 — Fittings);

— in the alternative, reduce the duration of the alleged infringe-
ment by applicants 1 to 3 in Article 1 of the decision and
cancel or reduce the fine imposed on applicants 1 to 3 in
Article 3 of the decision;

Action brought on 15 December 2006 — FRA.BO v
Commission

(Case T-381/06)

(2007/C 42/51)

Language of the case: English

Parties

Applicant: FRA.BO SpA (Milan, Italy) (represented by: R. Celli
and F. Distefano, lawyers)

— order the defendant to pay costs.

Defendant: Commission of the European Communities

Pleas in law and main arguments

The applicants are challenging Commission Decision C(2006)
4180 final of 20 September 2006 in Case COMP/F-1/38.121 —
Fittings. In the contested the decision a fine was imposed on the
applicant for breach of Article 81(1) EC and Article 53(1) of the
EEA Agreement. According to the Commission, the applicants
took part in a series of agreements in the form of price-fixing,
establishing price lists and rebates, establishing mechanisms for
the implementation of price increases, dividing up markets and
customers and exchanging other economic information on the
market for copper fittings and copper alloy fittings.

The applicants put forward five pleas in support of their claims.

it is submitted,

First of all,
in particular, that the defendant
based its reasoning on documents, in respect of which the appli-
cants were not granted a fair hearing.

Form of order sought

— Annul Article 2 of Commission Decision of 20 September
2006 (Case COMP/F-1/38.121 — Fittings — C(2006) 4180
final) relating to a proceeding under Article 81 EC, insofar
as it relates to the amount of the fine imposed on the appli-
cant;

— reduce the fine imposed on the applicant under the Court's

jurisdiction; and

— order the Commission to pay the costs of the proceedings,

including those of the applicant.

Pleas in law and main arguments

Secondly, the applicants submit that the Commission infringed
the duty to state reasons under Article 253 EC. According to
the applicants the contested decision is not adequately reasoned
on the ground that the facts at issue were not properly assessed.
In addition, exculpatory facts were not taken into account and
evidence was incorrectly evaluated.

Furthermore, the applicants criticise the fact that the facts, as
established by the Commission, were deemed to be a complex
infringement contrary to Article 81(1) EC.

The applicant seeks the partial annulment of Commission Deci-
sion C(2006) 4180 final of 20 September 2006 in Case COMP/
F-1/38.121 — Fittings, by which the Commission found that
the applicant, together with other undertakings, had infringed
Article 81 EC and Article 53 of the Agreement on the European
Economic Area by fixing prices, agreeing on price lists, agreeing
on discounts and rebates, agreeing on implementation mechan-
isms for introducing price increases, allocating national markets,
allocating customers and exchanging other commercial informa-
tion.