6 - Vicat

20.6. Legal proceedings and arbitrationFinancial information on the assets and liabilities,financial position and income statements of the issuer20.6. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS AND ARBITRATION20The Group is involved in certain disputes, legal,administrative or arbitration proceedings in theordinary course of its business. The Group constitutesa provision each time a given risk presents asubstantial probability of materializing before theend of the financial year and when an estimate ofthe financial consequences related to such risk ispossible.The principal disputes and administrative, legal orarbitration proceedings in progress in which theGroup is involved are detailed below.20.6.1. “Maurienne” dispute2006 was marked by the discovery of significantdamages linked to the production of aggregates onthe site of Saint-Martin-la-Porte in the Mauriennevalley in 2004.- An accidental mixture of limestone and gypsum,which occurred at the time of handling aftersorting, contributed to the occurrence of defectswhich appeared more than two years after use ofthe contaminated materials.The appraisals by court order that have beenconcluded or that are in progress have found BRAliable, notwithstanding the use of materials as wellas certain internal or project construction checksby some firms that frequently did not comply withstandards and best technical practice, which couldhave triggered, accelerated or amplified the defects.BRA is using these implementation or verificationfaults as a basis to negotiate shared liability. Protocolscovered by a confidentiality obligation are beingdeveloped between BRA and certain firms. Likewise,to put a halt to claims, whether unjustified or clearlyexaggerated, construction industry economistsassisted by experts certified with the Cour decassation (French Supreme Court of Appeal) areexamining all the documents alleging material orconsequential damages.This examination and a critical analysis of the periodunder investigation led BRA to recognize as atDecember 31, 2010 a net expense of € 2.3 million,owing to either an increase in the costs expected tocover the damages, the changes in BRA’s estimatedshare of responsibility, or the emergence of newclaims.Usually, these two concrete batching plants atMaurienne, like all the Group’s plants, use materialsextracted from quarries with properly identifieddeposits, that are checked regularly and rigorouslyso as to avoid this type of risk.Reinforced quality control measures have beenimplemented in order to prevent the recurrence ofsuch events and these have resulted in the Concrete& Aggregates business in France being awarded ISO9001-2000 certification at the beginning of 2009 andOHSAS 18001 : 2007 certification in November 2010.20.6.2. Competition litigation in CorsicaBy the ruling of March 12, 2007, the FrenchCompetition Commission fined the Company€ 8 million, as well as imposing fines on anotherFrench cement manufacturer and the Corsican cementdealers’ network. According to the Commission,the practices in respect of which the fine was imposedwere intended to restrict the supply of cementto the island to the two cement manufacturers andto block imports, in particular from Italy and Greece.The Company regrets the fact that the CompetitionCommission has, from its point of view, misunderstoodthe general context of the supply and distributionof cement in Corsica, as well as the very particularcircumstances having led to the conclusion, in a fullytransparent manner, of various agreements todayunder sanction and the beneficial effects resultingfrom the same for Corsican consumers.The plan was instituted many years ago underpressure from the public authorities withouteither the customers or the competitors allegedlydiscriminated against petitioning the Competitionauthorities.In 1991, the Chamber of Commerce and Industryof Upper Corsica requested Vicat and Lafargeto finance a refurbished silo facility at the port ofBastia, capable of receiving cement meeting Frenchstandards in bulk, and required the two suppliersto entrust the exclusive operation to the GIEGroupement Logistique Ciments Haute-Corse, anexclusivity now disputed by the Commission.Until 1998, the State subsidized the transport ofcement in bulk by € 2.3 million per year under theprinciple of continuity of supply to the area. Whenthis subsidy was withdrawn, Vicat SA, LafargeCiments and the dealers’ association on the island2010 registration document VICAT 185