Joined Cases T-125/03 and T-253/03: Judgment of the Court of First Instance (First Chamber) of 17 September 2007 — Akzo Nobel Chemicals Ltd and Akcros Chemicals Ltd v Commission (Competition — Administrative procedure — Commission's powers of investigation — Documents seized in the course of an investigation — Legal professional privilege protecting communications between lawyers and their clients — Admissibility)
Date: 2007-11-10
Institutions: Court of First Instance
Subjects: European Commission, action for annulment (EU), consultation of information, document, fact-finding mission, judicial investigation, offence, professional secret

10.11.2007

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 269/43

Re:

for compensation under Article 178 of

the
Applications
EC Treaty (now Article 235 EC) and under the second para-
graph of Article 215 of the EC Treaty (now the second para-
graph of Article 288 EC) for damage allegedly suffered by the
applicants as a result of the application of Council Regulation
(EEC) No 857/84 of 31 March 1984 adopting general rules for
the application of the levy referred to in Article 5c of Council
Regulation (EEC) No 804/68 in the milk and milk products
sector (OJ 1984 L 90, p. 13), as supplemented by Commission
Regulation (EEC) No 1371/84 of 16 May 1984 laying down
detailed rules for the application of the additional levy referred
to in Article 5c of Regulation No 804/68 (OJ 1984 L 132,
p. 11).

Operative part of the judgment

The Court:

1. Orders the Council and the Commission to make good the damage
suffered by Wilhelm Pelle and Ernst-Reinhard Konrad as a result of
the application of Council Regulation (EEC) No 857/84 of
31 March 1984 adopting general rules for the application of the
levy referred to in Article 5c of Regulation (EEC) No 804/68 in
the milk and milk products sector, as supplemented by Commission
Regulation (EEC) No 1371/84 of 16 May 1984 laying down
detailed rules for the application of the additional levy referred to in
in so far as those
Article 5c of Regulation (EEC) No 804/68,
regulations did not provide for the allocation of a reference quantity
to producers who, pursuant to an undertaking given under Council
Regulation (EEC) No 1078/77 of 17 May 1977, introducing a
system of premiums for
the non-marketing of milk and milk
products and for the conversion of dairy herds, did not deliver any
milk during the reference year adopted by the Member State
concerned;

2. Orders that Wilhelm Pelle, applicant in Case T-8/95, be compen-
sated for losses suffered as a result of the application of Regulation
No 857/84 for the period commencing 5 December 1987 and
ending 28 March 1989;

3. Orders that Ernst-Reinhard Konrad, applicant in Case T-9/95, be
compensated for losses suffered as a result of the application of
Regulation No 857/84 for the period commencing 27 November
1986 and ending on 28 March 1989;

4. Requests the parties to inform the Court within six months from
the date of delivery of this judgment of the amounts of damages
agreed to be payable;

5. Orders that, in the absence of agreement, the parties shall transmit
to the Court within the same period a statement of their views with
supporting figures;

6. Reserves the costs.

(1) OJ C 132, 28.5.2005.

Judgment of the Court of First Instance (First Chamber) of
17 September 2007 — Akzo Nobel Chemicals Ltd and
Akcros Chemicals Ltd v Commission

(Joined Cases T-125/03 and T-253/03) (1)

(Competition — Administrative procedure — Commission's
powers of investigation — Documents seized in the course of
an investigation — Legal professional privilege protecting
clients —
communications between lawyers and their

Admissibility)

(2007/C 269/77)

Language of the case: English

Parties

Applicants: Akzo Nobel Chemicals Ltd (Hersham, Walton on
Thames, Surrey, United Kingdom), Akcros Chemicals Ltd
(Hersham) (represented by C. Swaak, M. Mollica and M. van der
Woude, lawyers)

Defendants: Commission of the European Communities (repre-
sented initially by R Wainwright and C. Ingen-Housz, and subse-
quently by F. Castillo de la Torre and X. Lewis, Agents),

the European Union (CCBE)

Interveners in support of the defendants: The Council of the Bars
(Brussels,
and Law Societies of
Belgium), (represented by J. Flynn QC); Algemene Raad van de
Nederlandse Orde van Advocaten (The Hague, Netherlands)
lawyers);
(represented by O. Brouwer and C. Schillemans,
(Brussels)
European Company Lawyers Association (ECLA)
lawyers, and
(represented by M. Dolmans, K. Nordlander,
J. Temple Lang, solicitor); American Corporate Counsel Associa-
tion (ACCA) — European Chapter (Paris, France) (represented by
G. Berrisch,
International Bar
Association (IBA) (London, United Kingdom) (represented by J.
Buhart, lawyer)

lawyer, and D. Hull, solicitor);

Re:

Application, first, for the annulment of Commission decision
C(2003) 559/4 of 10 February 2003 and, so far as necessary, of
Commission decision C(2003) 85/4 of 30 January 2003
ordering Akzo Nobel Chemicals Ltd, Akcros Chemicals Ltd and
Akcros Chemicals and their respective subsidiaries to submit to
an investigation on the basis of Article 14(3) of Regulation
No 17 of 6 February 1962, First Council Regulation imple-
menting Articles [81 EC] and [82 EC] (OJ, English Special
Edition 1959-1962, p. 87) (Case COMP/E-1/38.589) and for an
order requiring the Commission to return certain documents
seized in the course of the investigation in question and not to
use their contents (Case T-125/03) and, second, for the annul-
ment of Commission decision C(2003) 1533 final of 8 May
2003 rejecting a request for the protection of those documents
on grounds of legal professional privilege protecting communi-
cations between lawyers and their clients (Case T-253/03).

C 269/44

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

10.11.2007

Operative part of the judgment

Re:

1. Dismisses the action in Case T-125/03 as inadmissible;

2. Dismisses the action in Case T-253/03 as unfounded;

3. Orders Akzo Nobel Chemicals Ltd and Akcros Chemicals Ltd to
bear three fifths of their own costs relating to the main proceedings
and to the proceedings for interim relief, and to pay three fifths of
the costs incurred by the Commission relating to the main proceed-
ings and to the proceedings for interim relief;

4. Orders the Commission to bear two fifths of its own costs relating
to the main proceedings and to the proceedings for interim relief,
and to pay two fifths of
the costs incurred by Akzo Nobel
Chemicals and Akcros Chemicals relating to the main proceedings
and to the proceedings for interim relief;

5. Orders the interveners to bear their own costs relating to the main

proceedings and to the proceedings for interim relief.

of

for

annulment

Application
Commission Decision
C(2003) 1473 final of 9 July 2003 declaring the measures
which the German authorities propose to take to promote the
use of insulating materials produced from renewable raw mate-
rials
aid
No 694/2002).

compatible with the

common market

(State

Operative part of the judgment

The Court:

1. Dismisses the action;

2. orders Fachvereinigung Mineralfaserindustrie eV Deutsche Gruppe
der Eurima — European Insulation Manufacturers Association to
bear its own costs as well as those incurred by the Commission;

3. orders the Federal Republic of Germany to bear its own costs.

(1) OJ C 146, 21.6.2003.

(1) OJ C 35, 7.2.2004.

Judgment of the Court of First Instance of 20 September
v
2007 — Fachvereinigung Mineralfaserindustrie

Commission

(Case T-375/03) (1)

(State aid — Measures to promote the use of insulating mate-
rials produced from renewable raw materials — Decision
declaring the aid compatible with the common market —
Preliminary investigation procedure — Action for annulment
— Admissibility — Notion of party concerned within the
meaning of Article 88(2) EC — Commission's duty to initiate
the inter partes procedure)

Judgment of the Court of First Instance of 27 September
2007 — La Mer Technology v OHIM — Laboratoires
Goëmar (LA MER)

(Case T-418/03) (1)

(Community trade mark — Opposition proceedings — Appli-
cation for Community word mark LA MER — Earlier national
word mark LABORATOIRE DE LA MER — Relative ground
of refusal — Genuine use of the mark — Article 43(1) and
(2) of Regulation (EC) No 40/94 — No likelihood of confu-
sion — Article 8(1)(b) of Regulation No 40/94))

(2007/C 269/78)

Language of the case: German

(2007/C 269/79)

Language of the case: English

Parties

Parties

Applicant: Fachvereinigung Mineralfaserindustrie eV Deutsche
Gruppe der Eurima — European Insulation Manufacturers Asso-
ciation (Frankfurt am Main, Germany)
(represented by: T.
Schmidt-Kötters, D. Uwer and K. Najork, lawyers)

Applicant: La Mer Technology, Inc. (New York, New York, United
States) (represented by: initially, V. von Bomhard, A. Renck and
A. Pohlmann, and subsequently, V. von Bomhard and A. Renck,
lawyers)

Defendant: Commission of the European Communities (repre-
sented by: V. Kreuschitz and M. Niejahr, acting as Agents)

Defendant: Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market
(Trade Marks and Designs) (represented by: D. Botis, Agent)

in support of

the defendant: Federal Republic of
Intervener
Germany (represented by:
initially, W.-D. Plessing, M. Lumma
and C. Schulze-Bahr, and subsequently W.-D. Plessing and C.
Schulze-Bahr, acting as Agents)

Other party to the proceedings before the Board of Appeal of OHIM,
intervener before the Court of First Instance: Laboratoires Goëmar
(Saint-Malo, France) (represented by: E. Baud and S. Strittmatter,
lawyers)