CELEX: C1996/210/53
Language: en
Date: 1996-07-20 00:00:00
Title: Removal from the register of Case T-109/95

20 . 7 . 96           EN                  Official Journal of the European Communities                                No C 210/23
Action brought on 22 May 1996 by Garage Massol SARL                  The applicant contends, in particular, that, according to
  against the Commission of the European Communities                 settled case-law, the Commission is obliged to investigate
                        ( Case T-77/96 )                             every complaint referred to it and that, contrary to that
                                                                     case-law, it has failed either to respond to the formal notice
                          ( 96/C 210/52 )                            served by the applicant or to investigate its complaint.
                                                                     Furthermore, it has refused to communicate details of the
                 (Language of the case: French)                      inquiry carried out into the affairs of Automobiles Peugeot
                                                                     and/or PSA, thereby negating results obtained at the expense
                                                                     of European taxpayers and robbing the principle of
An action against the Commission of the European                     subsidiarity of all practical effect.
Communities was brought before the Court of First
Instance of the European Communities on 22 May 1996 by               In a different connection, the applicant contends that to
Garage Massol SARL, established at Frejairolles ( France ),          refuse to undertake an analysis of the agreement and of the
represented by Jean Louis Portolano, of the                          contractual practices engaged in by Peugeot, on the pretext
Aix-en-Provence Bar, with an address for service in
                                                                     that the Commission was already examining a similar case
Luxembourg at the Chambers of Roy Nathan, of Nathan &                in the course of its inquiries , amounts to an infringement of
Noesen, 18 rue des Glacis .
                                                                     Article 155 of the Treaty, which confers on the Commission
                                                                     responsibility for ensuring compliance with the Treaty
The applicant claims that the Court should :                         provisions . Such a refusal to investigate the complaint is all
                                                                     the more irregular since the Commission enjoys sole power,
— declare that the Commission has failed to act in relation          under Council Regulation No 17, to determine breaches of
     to complaints lodged by Massol SARL,                            the competition rules and has exclusive competence to
                                                                     define which individual matters or categories are to be
— annual the decision implicitly rejecting the complaints            exempt pursuant to Article 85 ( 3 ) of the Treaty .
     and the decision refusing to communicate the replies of
     Automobiles Peugeot and/or PSA,                                 In addition, the Commission's refusal to communicate its
                                                                     correspondence with Automobiles Peugeot and/or the PSA
— find that the Commission has incurred non-contractual
                                                                     group must be regarded as contrary to the right to a fair
                                                                     hearing, the principle of audi alteram partem and the
     liability and order it to make good the damage suffered         established right of an applicant to seek judicial review of
     by Massol SARL in the annual sum of up to ECU                   express decisions of the Commission .
     180 000 from 25 May 1994,
— order the Commission to pay the costs, including a
     contribution of up to FF 100 000 in respect of lawyers '
     fees .
Pleas in law and main arguments                                            Removal from the register of Case T-109/95 ( )
                                                                                               ( 96/C 210/53 )
The applicant, a garage marketing Peugeot vehicles in
France outside the network of concessionaires within the                            (Language of the case: English)
PSA group, objects to the Commission's failure to act on the
complaint lodged by it against the system set up by that
group . On the basis of that dealership system, the accredited       By order of 23 April 1996 , the President of the Fourth
concessionaires are opposing, collectively and in concert,           Chamber of the Court of First Instance of the European
the activities of resellers who are not accredited by the            Communities ordered the removal from the register of
manufacturer, contending that the activities of independent          Case T-109/95 : X v . Commission of the European
                                                                     Communities .
resellers are illegal under Regulation ( EEC ) No 123/85 .
Concurrently, and with a view to reserving to themselves the
business of supplying and reselling new Peugeot vehicles,            (') OJ No C 174 , 8 . 7 . 199 5 .
PSA and the distributors within its network have claimed
that their dealership agreements are legal, on the ground
that, according to them, those agreements fulfil the various
exemption criteria laid down by that Regulation .
The reason given for the Commission's refusal to investigate
the complaint was that it was not for the Commission to                    Removal from the register of Case T-157/95 ( )
assume the role assigned to the national courts, before                                        ( 96/C 210/54 )
which proceedings between the applicant and several
dealers are already pending, and that the complaint in
question did not touch on issues of Community interest,
                                                                                    (Language of tbe case: Englisb)
since the Commission was already investigating a particular
case calling in question the conditions or practices alluded to       By order of 25 April 1996 , the President of the First
 by it.                                                               Chamber ( Extended Composition ) of the Court of First