Lawyers of Exiora Law Firm succeeded in overturning judgments to collect 80 mln rubles from its client as compensation of environmental damage

A regional ministry for environmental protection brought an action for damages with a commercial arbitration court against a client of the Law Firm in the amount of 80 mln RUR as compensation of environmental damage caused due to felling of forest trees and soil devastation when repairing a highway. The amount of damages was calculated based on the cost of remedial landscaping which methods were designed by local authorities.

Pursuant to the decision pronounced by the first instance commercial arbitration court and further upheld by a ruling issued by a court of appeals, the claim was satisfied.

The lawyers of the Law Firm succeeded in proving that the decisions issued in the case are ungrounded. Firstly, neither regional, nor local authorities are entitled to approve tariffs and methods of calculating the scope of environmental damage, since the authority to approve such tariffs and methods fall within the exclusive jurisdiction of federal authorities. Secondly, if the environmental damage is caused in the course of construction works, the obligation to reimburse for it may be imposed on the contractor which exceeded the scope of the assignment given by the customer.

Pursuant to a resolution of a court of cassation, the decisions issued in the case were overturned, and the case will be tried de novo.