Court says EU must pay a fraction of legal fees sought by Qualcomm

BRUSSELS: Europe’s 2d-absolute best court docket has said EU regulators must always calm pay €785,857.54  ($851,634) of correct costs for Qualcomm, no longer up to 10 per cent of the €12 million sought by the US chipmaker after it received an appeal in opposition to an antitrust gorgeous.

The Luxembourg-primarily primarily primarily based General Court said the preference of hours labored and hourly rates feeble in Qualcomm’s tell changed into as soon as “manifestly vulgar”.

Qualcomm submitted its correct bill to the European Price in 2022 after the General Court backed the US neighborhood’s fight in opposition to a 997 million euro EU antitrust gorgeous issued in 2018 and ordered the regulator to pay Qualcomm’s correct costs.

The Price, alternatively, disputed the €12,041,755.80 sought by the firm, announcing the volume must always calm be €405,315.

Qualcomm said its correct bill changed into as soon as primarily primarily primarily based on the importance and complexity of the case and the volume of work carried out by a crew of 19.

Judges in a ruling dated Feb 29 posted on the court docket’s net page online brushed off the US firm’s arguments, announcing courts were concerned completely with the full preference of hours of work main for the correct complaints, no topic the preference of lawyers furious by the case.

They said hourly rates weren’t presented in terms of mutter, clearly known duties and that the mountainous quantity of research and evaluation and adduced a foremost preference of paperwork earlier than the court docket changed into as soon as no longer sufficient to substantiate the sums claimed or that the work referring to to them changed into as soon as primarily incurred.

“The applicant’s quiz of is insufficiently substantiated and manifestly vulgar as regards each the quantities claimed and the numbers of hours and linked hourly rates,” judges said.

The court docket keep the full fee including costs for rules firm Quinn Emanuel at €754,190 euros and 31,667.54 euros for economic consultancy Compass Lexecon/FTI.

Judges rejected a quiz of for €302,658.10 for correct companies and products equipped by rules firm Cravath Swaine & Moore as these were for paperwork purchased in US complaints and therefore produced as evidence within the EU litigation.