Displaying items by tag: Legal
China: Shanshui Cement has regained control over Liaocheng Shanshui, a subsidiary that was illegally occupied by ‘unidentified people’. The local government and police helped the company take back the cement plant and its offices. Normal production has resumed.
During the occupation the offices were ransacked and the official seal and business license of Liaocheng Shanshui were stolen. Shandong Shanshui and Liaocheng Shanshui have announced that, the stolen seal of Liaocheng Shanshui has been invalidated since 16 June 2016.
In a statement the company has confirmed that a corporate dispute is on-going between Shanshui Zhonggong, Shandong Shanshui and Liaocheng Shanshui. It believes that the occupation was related to this. Shanshui Cement has faced financial troubles since a shareholder battle for control of the company took place in late 2015.
Europe: The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled that a Greek law that requests employers to receive approval by the Labour ministry before making bulk redundancies is incompatible with European Union law. The judgement was made in relation to the layoff of a group of workers at the Halkida cement plant when Lafarge purchased the plant from AGET Heracles in 2013, according to the Athens News Agency. The Labour ministry blocked the request, citing conditions in the labour market, the financial situation of the company and the interest of the national economy. Lafarge then appealed to the Council of State, which then referred the case to the ECJ.
Australia: The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has filed an appeal against a US$12.6m fine against Cement Australia, which it views is too low. On 16 May 2016 a Federal Court published orders imposing a penalty of US$13.7m on the cement producer. One order was then set aside, reducing the fine to US$12.6m. However, the ACCC contends that a penalty of over US$66m is more appropriate for the breaches of Australia’s competition legislation.
“The ACCC will argue to the Full Court that the penalties imposed on Cement Australia are manifestly inadequate, and not of appropriate deterrent value,” said ACCC Chairman Rod Sims. He added that suitable financial penalties were considered ‘essential’ as a deterrent to anti-competitive conduct and to prevent businesses viewing such behaviour as an acceptable cost of doing business.
The proceedings relate to contracts that were entered into by Cement Australia companies between 2002 and 2006 with four power stations in South East Queensland, to acquire fly ash. The court found numerous contraventions of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010. It also fined Christopher White, a manager in the Cement Australia fly ash business during the relevant period, a penalty of US$14,700 for his involvement in making the contravening contracts with the operator of the Swanbank power station in 2005.
Irish Competition and Consumer Protection Commission appeals court judgement on accessing CRH files
23 May 2016Ireland: The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) has appealed against a High Court judgment preventing the CCPC from accessing or reviewing certain electronic documents seized by the CCPC during a search conducted in May 2015.
The High Court judgment arose from a court action taken by CRH against the CCPC following the seizure of hard copy and electronic documents by the CCPC during an unannounced search at the premises of CRH’s subsidiary, Irish Cement, on 14 May 2015. The search related to an investigation by the CCPC into alleged anti-competitive conduct in the bagged cement sector. The orders made by the High Court prevent the CCPC from accessing or reviewing material in the mailbox of Seamus Lynch, a director of Irish Cement, unless the CCPC and CRH agree to appoint an independent third party to ‘sift’ the seized documents for material relevant to the investigation.
The CCPC’s investigation into alleged anti-competitive practices by Irish Cement in the supply of bagged cement continues.
India: The Calcutta High Court has dismissed two petitions by members of the Birla family intending to challenge the takeover of Reliance Infrastructure by Birla Corporation. Justice Jyotirmoy Bhattacharya held that the petitions were not maintainable stating that decisions taken by the directors could not be called into question by the probate court.
The challenge by the Birla family represents the latest move in a long-running legal battle between the family and accountant R S Lodha, father of the current chairman of Birla Corporation. The cement company announced in February 2016 that it was planning to buy Reliance Infrastructure for US$715m.
China: Harbin Xiaoling Cement in Heilongjiang province has taken the environment ministry to court after its approval to operate was rejected following complaints by residents. The cement company’s representatives say the ministry was wrong to overrule a decision by the local authorities in 2011 that granted approval for production at the plant, according to the South China Morning Post.
The ministry took action following complaints by residents about noise and dust pollution. They argued that residents living within 500m of the plant should have been relocated following the recommendation of an environmental review conducted when the plant expanded production in 2009. However, the cement plant has countered that it was built in 1932, whilst the area was under Japanese occupation, before any resident moved to the area.
Portugal: Cimpor has appealed a judgement by the Supreme Administrative Court cancelling permits to burn alternative fuels at its Souselas cement plant. The North Central Administrative Court cancelled the environmental licences, originally granted by the former Environment Minister Nunes Correia, in March 2016.
Cemex fined for 2014 worker death in Kentucky
22 April 2016US: Kosmos Cement, a subsidiary of Cemex, has pleaded guilty to violating workplace safety standards. It is liable to be fined to up to US$400,000 towards the death of a worker at its Louisville cement plant in Kentucky in 2014. Michael Egan, Cemex's executive vice president and general counsel, entered the guilty plea for the company. Contract employee Felipe Mata Vizcaya fell to his death after opening an elevator door when the elevator car wasn't there, according to the Courier-Journal.
Cemex is required to pay US$200,000 immediately and the balance if it doesn't make required repairs within three years. It has also pledged to design, operate and test all elevators at the site to meet national safety standards and to install additional safety features.
In a statement, US Attorney John Kuhn called the matter "one of the worst cases of negligence on the part of a company." The company was accused of violating the Mine Safety and Health Act, and the case was investigated by the US Labor Department's Mine Safety & Health Administration.
Titan lawsuit ends as North Carolina cancels air permit
14 April 2016US: A legal challenge to the cancelled Titan American Castle Hayne cement plant has ended following the termination of a challenged air pollution permit by the North Carolina Division of Air Quality. Titan rescinded the permit, following its announcement in March 2016 to cancel its cement plant project. It was originally issued in 2012.
"For years, Titan and the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) tried to keep citizen groups from getting a hearing on significant and avoidable air pollution from this proposed plant," said Geoff Gisler, senior attorney at the Southern Environmental Law Center who represented the North Carolina Coastal Federation, Cape Fear River Watch, PenderWatch & Conservancy, and Sierra Club. "We have achieved the goal of this lawsuit - protecting citizens of New Hanover and Pender counties from Titan’s pollution when DEQ failed to do so."
Titan will continue to operate a cement terminal at the site. On 12 April 2016, the North Carolina Court of Appeals granted citizen groups’ request to dismiss the appeal because the approval of the plant had been withdrawn, according to the Southern Environmental Law Center.
China: Courts have ordered Shandong Shanshui Cement Group to pay back its creditors US$372m, the company said in a statement reported by Reuters. Shandong Shanshui Cement said it was unlikely to be able to make the required payments due to financial troubles. The courts will now start to auction off the company’s assets.
Bond defaults by a subsidiary of Shanshui Cement Group had led creditors to seek legal redress. Shandong Shanshui Cement's statement to the Shanghai Clearing House described almost 100 lawsuits against the company. The total amount sought is around US$764m.