Nov. 10 (Bloomberg) -- LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA and L’Oreal SA were among 15 perfume makers and retailers who won dismissal of a 46.2 million-euro ($69.1 million) French price-fixing fine.

The Paris appeals court today threw out a 2006 decision by a French regulator, saying it was wrong to use six-year-old evidence to penalize the perfumers for collaborating with retailers including Marionnaud SA and Sephora UK Ltd., now a unit of LVMH, to fix uniform prices from 1997 to 2000.

“The age of the facts prevented the companies from making use of evidence that could have countered those cited by the” French Competition Authority, Judge Jean-Claude Magendie wrote in the 26-page ruling.

L’Oreal, the world’s biggest cosmetics maker, and LVMH, the largest luxury-goods manufacturer, reported declining sales this month as the recession forced shoppers to curb spending on perfume and other beauty products. The European Commission is revising rules on how much control brand owners in the 27-nation bloc have over how their products are sold.

L’Oreal “rejoices in this decision,” according to an e- mailed statement from the Paris-based company. The court “found there had been no deal between L’Oreal’s luxury products division and the retailers.”

Virginie Guin, a spokeswoman for the Competition Authority, declined to comment on the appeals court decision.

To contact the reporter on this story: Heather Smith in Paris at hsmith26@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: November 10, 2009 11:49 EST