BRUSSELS (Reuters) - British company Dyson, which makes bagless vacuum cleaners, has won the support of Europe's second highest court in its fight against an EU law on energy efficiency labelling.
The Luxembourg-based General Court on Thursday reversed its 2015 ruling which rejected Dyson's challenge to the law. The move came after the EU Court of Justice (ECJ) last year ordered the lower tribunal to re-examine the case following an appeal by the company.
The energy labelling rules, valid since September 2014, are designed to prevent energy waste, reduce fuel bills and cut carbon emissions.
Dyson challenged the regulation in 2013, saying that the requirements on how vacuum cleaners should be labelled failed to take into account their particular design and misled customers about the efficiency of some vacuum cleaners, particularly those with bags.
"Tests of a vacuum cleaner's energy efficiency carried out with an empty receptacle do not reflect conditions as close as possible to actual conditions of use," the General Court said.
The European Commission, which drafted the rules, can appeal the case at the ECJ but only on points of law.
(Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)
