The Dutch Trade and Industry Appeals Tribunal quashes a judgement of the District Court of Rotterdam in relation to fines imposed by the Competition Authority on an undertaking for breaching a seal during a dawn raid investigation (LHV)

Introduction On 3 June 2014, the Dutch Trade and Industry Appeals Tribunal (the “CBb”) quashed a judgement of the District Court Rotterdam (the “District Court”) in relation to a fine imposed by – the predecessor of – the Dutch Authority for Consumers & Markets (the “ACM”). The fine had been imposed on the Dutch Association of General Practitioners (the “LHV”) for breach of a seal in connection with a dawn raid at LHV’s premises. As is standard practice during dawn raids that last more than a day, the ACM affixed a seal to a room at LHV’s offices in the context of an unannounced inspection. At night, a security guard at LHV’s shared office building apparently had opened the door to the room during his rounds, thereby breaking the seal. The guard was not directly employed by LHV.