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THEE - The Competition Commission - Competition Commission to appeal Competition Appeal Court (CAC) decision in the Loungefoam matter MEDIA RELEASE 06 June 2011 Competition Commission to appeal Competition Appeal Court (CAC) decision in the Loungefoam matter On Friday 03 June 2011, the Competition Commission lodged its application for leave to appeal the decision of the Competition Appeal Court (CAC), handed down on 6 May 2011. The CAC upheld appeals by Loungefoam (PTY) Limited, Gommagomma (PTY) Limited, Steinhoff International Holdings Limited and Steinhoff Africa Holdings (PTY) Limited. The firms had appealed against a Competition Tribunal decision allowing the Commission to amend its complaint referral and join Steinhoff as a party to the case. The case pertains to alleged cartel conduct between Loungefoam (PTY) Ltd, Gommagomma (PTY) Ltd, Steinhoff International Holdings Limited and Steinhoff Africa Holdings which started in and around 1999 until 2004 involving price fixing and market allocation in polyurethane foam used in the manufacture of furniture. The Commission is to appeal the CAC decision based on the following grounds: - that the Court`s ruling regarding what should be included in an initiation statement is too restrictive or alternatively sets an unduly high standard not required by the Competition Act or the Constitution.; - that the Commission is not compelled to refer a case within one year (1) if it initiates a complaint as held by the CAC. The Competition Act provides that the Commission can refer such a complaint to the Tribunal at any time; - that it is competent in law for a parent company to be held liable for actions of its subsidiary when the latter engages in anti-competitive conduct. This appeal follows applications filed by the Competition Commission against the CAC`s decisions in the Yara/Omnia and Netstar matters. The cumulative effect of these decisions is to constrain the Commission`s ability to investigate anticompetitive conduct and to compromise the rights of third parties to lodge complaints of anticompetitive conduct. In the meantime, the Commission is awaiting the Tribunal reasons on the SAB matter which was dismissed due to the precedent set by the higher courts. ENDS Further Information: Oupa Bodibe, Manager: Advocacy & Stakeholder Relations 012 394 3267 / 082 563 6970/ oupaB@compcom.co.za Keitumetse Letebele, Head of Communication 012 394 3183/082 783 3397/ keitumetseL@compcom.co.za Date: 06/06/2011 15:05:00 Supplied by www.sharenet.co.za Produced by the JSE SENS Department. The SENS service is an information dissemination service administered by the JSE Limited (`JSE`). The JSE does not, whether expressly, tacitly or implicitly, represent, warrant or in any way guarantee the truth, accuracy or completeness of the information published on SENS. The JSE, their officers, employees and agents accept no liability for (or in respect of) any direct, indirect, incidental or consequential loss or damage of any kind or nature, howsoever arising, from the use of SENS or the use of, or reliance on, information disseminated through SENS.
