Last Wednesday, January 10, Stichting Environment and Fundamental Rights (SEFR), a nonprofit organization in the Netherlands, sued the Repsol company for causing the oil spill at the La Pampilla refinery in 2022. This document was presented before a court in The Hague in the Netherlands and brings together more than 34,000 citizens from the areas of Ancón, Aucallama, Chancay, Huacho, Santa Rosa and Ventanilla who were harmed by the oil company’s negligence.
Pogust Goodhead, the law firm that will assume the defense of SEFR, indicated in a press release that the first hearing is scheduled for June, in which it will be determined whether the lawsuit proceeds in the jurisdiction of the court in The Hague.
“Our objective is that all those affected by this catastrophe receive fair compensation for the damage that Repsol caused them. “We are going to show the world what this company did in Peru,” said Tom Goodhead, partner and global CEO of PG, who estimates that the amount of the lawsuit exceeds $1 billion.
This legal claim has been filed in the Netherlands because the company Repsol Perú VB is tax registered in this country. As it is an international court, environmental standards will be applied at a global level, suggesting that compensation for victims could be more complete and larger than those obtainable through a local lawsuit.
Those affected, fishermen, informal vendors and small businesses that lost income due to the spill, joined the lawsuit by signing at registration centers located in the districts of Ancón, Chancay and Ventanilla between November of last year and January of this year.
Repsol, Ventanilla oil spill. Photo: Gianella Aguirre/LR
Likewise, T. Goodhead, leader of the firm, highlights his experience in similar cases, such as the victory in 2022 in the jurisdictional phase in favor of more than 700,000 victims of the Mariana dam disaster, the largest environmental catastrophe in Brazil, facing BHP. , the world’s largest mining company, in the courts of England and Wales. He also reached a settlement in 2022 with Volkswagen for £193 million to benefit users affected by the manipulation of their vehicles’ carbon emissions indicators.
Therefore, the firm hopes that the company opts for conciliation with the victims to avoid a lengthy and costly litigation process. In the event of litigation, he estimates that the process could take between two and three years, and PG will represent the interests of all plaintiffs.
Source: Larepublica
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