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Europe’s second-highest court has ordered the EU regulators to pay $851,634 as legal fees to Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM), less than 10% of the $12M claim the U.S. chipmaker has sought as part of its successful appeal over a more than $1B antitrust fine in 2022.
In a ruling dated Feb. 29, the Luxembourg-based General Court said that the quantity of work and the associated costs Qualcomm (QCOM) has cited were not justifiable, hence the reduced compensation.
“The applicant’s request is insufficiently substantiated and manifestly excessive as regards both the amounts claimed and the numbers of hours and related hourly rates,” the judges wrote.
The case relates to the General Court’s ruling to back QCOM in its appeal over a €997M EU antitrust fine imposed in 2018.
At the time, the court ordered EU regulators to pay the company’s legal bill, which QCOM said ran into €12M. The European Commission dismissed the claim, noting that it should be €405,315. Qualcomm (QCOM) defended, arguing that 19 professionals worked in its bid to overturn the fine.
The judges rejected the company’s claims, pointing out that the courts only considered the number of hours necessary for legal work, not the number of professionals involved.