2019:519 Quanta Storage, Inc. v European Commission

ECLI:EU:T:2019:519

Following an administrative investigation initiated on denunciation, the Commission concluded that thirteen companies had participated in a cartel on the ODD market. Under the contested decision, the Commission established that, at least from 23 June 2004 to 25 November 2008, the participants in that prohibited cartel had coordinated their conduct in relation to the tendering procedures organised by the computer manufacturers Dell and Hewlett Packard.

According to the Commission, the companies involved had sought, through a network of parallel bilateral contacts, to ensure that the prices of ODD products remained at higher levels than they would have been in the absence of those bilateral contacts. Accordingly, the Commission imposed a fine of EUR 7 146 000 on the applicant for infringement of Article 101 TFEU and Article 53 of the EEA Agreement.

In support of its action, the applicant relied on five pleas in law, alleging, inter alia, infringements of the rights of the defence, the obligation to state reasons and the right to sound administration, a lack of evidence as to its participation in a single and continuous infringement, the Commission’s lack of competence to apply Article 101 TFEU and Article 53 of the EEA Agreement and errors of fact and law in the calculation of the amount of the fine. Those pleas in law were, however, all rejected by the Tribunal.

For its part, the Commission requested the Tribunal in its defence, in addition to dismissing the action, to exercise its unlimited jurisdiction to increase the amount of the fine imposed on the applicant by EUR 40 000, on the ground that the original calculation of the fine had been based on certain estimates provided by the applicant which had been contradicted by figures provided by Dell on the same day as the adoption of the contested decision.

In that regard, the Tribunal pointed out first of all that, although the exercise of its unlimited jurisdiction is most often requested by the applicants in the sense of a reduction in the amount of the fine, there is nothing to prevent the Commission from also submitting to the Court of Justice of the European Union the question of the amount of the fine and making an application for an increase in that amount. Since the amount of the fine cannot be maintained where it results from the taking into consideration of a materially inaccurate factual element, the Tribunal then examined the estimates provided by the appellant and challenged by the Commission and compared them with the estimates provided by Dell and relied on by the Commission.

However, the Tribunal considered that, although the latter appeared to be better substantiated, they were not sufficiently reliable for it to be established with certainty that the appellant’s estimates were materially inaccurate. The Tribunal concluded that the benefit of the doubt must be given to the applicant and rejected the Commission’s request.

{1 Commission Decision C(2015) 7135 final of 21 October 2015 relating to a proceeding pursuant to Article 101 TFEU and Article 53 of the EEA Agreement (Case AT.39639 – Optical disc drives).}

1. Dismisses the action;
2. Dismisses the European Commission’s request that the amount of the fine of Quanta Storage, Inc. be increased;
3. Orders Quanta Storage to bear its own costs and to pay four fifths of the costs incurred by the Commission.