Reuters: Regulatory News: EU Commission allowed to claim cartel damages

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EU Commission allowed to claim cartel damages Jun 26th 2012, 15:07 Tue Jun 26, 2012 11:07am EDT * EU Commission can seek damages from Kone, Schindler, Otis * Court advisor says ThyssenKrupp also liable to damages * Opinion is non-binding By Foo Yun Chee BRUSSELS, June 26 (Reuters) - The European Commission can claim damages as a customer from four lift companies that it found guilty five years ago of operating a cartel, an adviser to Europe's highest court said on Tuesday. If judges at the EU Court of Justice (ECJ) follow the adviser's non-binding opinion, it could pave the way for EU regulators to seek compensation from other cartels on behalf of institutions and also encourage individuals to take similar steps. The case marked the first time that EU regulators sought damages from a cartel - Otis, Kone, Schindler and ThyssenKrupp - citing the harm it suffered as a consumer. The four companies installed and operated the escalators in EU buildings in Brussels and Luxembourg. The Commission, which acts as antitrust regulator in the European Union, can claim damages from the four escalator and elevator companies even though it had issued a ruling in the case, Advocate General Pedro Cruz Villalon said. ECJ judges generally follow the advocate general's opinions in the majority of cases. The EU executive fined the four firms and Mitsubishi Elevator Europe a total of 992 million euros ($1.24 billion) in 2007 for running an escalator and lift cartel in Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. The Commission then decided to seek damages of about 7 million euros from Swiss-based Schindler, U.S. conglomerate United Technologies' Otis, Finnish firm Kone and Germany's ThyssenKrupp in a Belgian court. The Commission argued that as a customer, it had over-paid for the companies' products and services as a result of the cartel. Belgian judges subsequently sought advice from the ECJ. Separately, the ECJ is also examining appeals by the four companies against the General Court ruling last year upholding the Commission's 2007 cartel finding. ThyssenKrupp won a reduction in its fine, but the companies have since appealed to have their convictions overturned. Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

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