ACTIONS CORNER
K+S is to be allowed to continue its current release of saline production and stockpile waters from its Werra plant till 2015. In November 2011, Kassel Regional Council had granted the North Hessian salt and fertilizer company permission to release further wastewater. The municipalities of Herleshausen, Gerstungen, Witzenhausen, the Lower Werra fishing cooperative, the citizens’ initiative “For a Werratal worth living” and the Thuringia Fishing and Conservation Association had unsuccessfully sued against the disposal of the saline waste water. The plaintiffs were not entitled to bring proceedings because they were not injured in their “subjective and individual rights,” said a spokesman explaining the court decision.
After two years of investigative work into possible unauthorized collaboration and collusion on prices for automobile wiring harnesses, the European Commission has opened proceedings against automotive suppliers. Among those affected is LEONI. “We are cooperating with the EU Commission,” said a spokesman for the Nuremberg cable and wiring systems manufacturers. It would also continue working together with the U.S. Department of Justice on the assessment of past antitrust violations. Because of the current proceedings, LEONI would not specifically comment on the allegations. The EU too did not specify the status of the proceedings or the defendants, which would be threatened with heavy fines if convicted.
The bribery trial of Anton Weinmann before Munich District Court was continued on 29 August, after an amicable settlement between the court, prosecution and defence did not materialize in the morning. The presiding judge did not however rule out a possible agreement in future. The indictment accuses the former MAN Commercial Vehicles board member of abetting bribery, Weinmann rejects this. The prosecution is trying to prove that the former board member had received knowledge of bribery operations in Belgium and Slovenia without acting.
METRO has won the shareholders’ dispute as to who is to call the shots at Media-Saturn Holding (MSH). First, on 8 August, the arbitral tribunal gave the parties just a model decision. However, it largely followed the majority shareholder’s ideas. Thus, the Düsseldorf retail giant may put in an advisory board that can take important business decisions for Media Markt and Saturn by simple majority and without Erich Kellerhals. The Munich Court of Appeal also confirmed the legality of the Advisory Board on 9 August. While for Olaf Koch “the deconsolidation debate is off the table,” from the perspective of Kellerhals the business group is “not an inch closer to its self-declared goals and cannot control the company (MSH).” The minority shareholder was to that extent reasonable when he declared that the conflict could not be solved by legal means. However, he still wanted to consider an appeal against the decision now.
ProSiebenSat.1 and RTL cannot implement their plans for a joint open portal, according to a decision of the Düsseldorf Higher Regional Court (OLG). The court on 8 August dismissed a complaint by the TV corporations against a spring 2011 ban imposed by the Bundeskartellamt. The proposed video platform would further strengthen the already dominant position of the groups. The authority’s chief Andreas Mundt described the decision as “an important signal for the protection of competition in the field of the new media.” The OLG judgment is however not yet final.
In their bitter dispute SAP and Oracle have settled restitution for the Tomorrow Now data theft in the amount of 306 million dollars (250 million euros), plus existing legal fees in the amount of $120 million, if the current proceedings are terminated. The step allows the two archrivals to shorten the course of justice cleanly and quickly start the appeal process, which the Californians will most likely do in the next four weeks. According to analyst estimates Oracle is concerned not just about money but also about damaging the competitor’s reputation. Together with attorneys’ fees accrued over the years, the Germans needed to pay “at least $ 426 million,” said Oracle General Counsel Dorian Daley.
A former Siemens manager in the medical technology sector was sentenced on 1 August in connection with the group’s bribery scandal to one and a half years’ probation. The 68-year-old must also pay a fine of 130,000 euros, decided the 5th Criminal Court of Munich. He was responsible the mistakes alleged against him in the indictment, the accused confessed through his lawyers. The commercial sector executive had admitted to having, along with other defendants, diverted more than ten million euros to foreign shell companies.